For Good
by Meltalviel
Summary: Glinda, in a strange turn of events, suddenly finds herself back in her schooldays at Shiz. Torn, she must decide between preventing the future as she knows it from unravelling once more or changing her friends– for good. –AU booksical–
1. Good News

**A/N:** Why hello there :). For those of you who remember this story, **thank you so much** for the nomination/votes in Wolfie's Wicked Awards thing xD! I was so happy that I decided to bring this back :o. Here's a few things you should know:

One. This is definitely more thought out than last time. Two. I have a beta this time (Jelly :D). Three. I definitely plan to try and keep the time between updates shorter. Four. This will be _long_.

For all of you who've read this before, it's quite different now, I'm pleased to say. For those of you who haven't, welcome! Please note I have set up an FFN forum specifically related to this story. If you go there, you can vote on things to come. Kay, so I'm done now. Enjoy!

_Who can say if I've been changed for the better but because I knew you, I have been changed..._

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**For Good**

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**Book I: Good...**

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**Good News**

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The creature known as Glinda the Good was a pathetic one. Her life was a masquerade, a cheap manifestation of the root of politics: smiling on the outside, writhing on the inside.

It had been a year since her best friend died. A year with no one who really understood her had taken its toll on the public figure: the once-bouncy golden curls were now limp, framing an ashy, prematurely aged face. And now, with public figures arriving from all over Oz to gather for the anniversary celebration of the Witch's melting, Glinda felt as if she was drowning.

She was sick of this.

She was sick of the lies, sick of the expectations, sick of the false smiles plastered on peoples' faces as they chatted aimlessly about things no more important than someone's social standing.

Galinda Upland, the flouncing debutante who, at Shiz, had always been surrounded by chatty, self-absorbed girls, was perfect for the political world. It was becoming more and more apparent that, despite her original desires, Glinda was not.

* * *

Mouth open in an 'o', hands steady, Glinda finished applying the last bit of mascara to her eyelashes and gave her reflection a final glimpse. She allowed a small, nostalgic sigh to escape her lips before forcing a smile and stepping outside.

"Ready, miss?" her aide asked, greeting her briefly.

She nodded as she stepped into the accursed bubble and began to rise above the City of Emeralds. _Such an appropriate name_, she thought sardonically._ It's as jaded as its citizens_.

"Fellow Ozians," she proclaimed once the bubble was high enough to see the swarms of people on the ground. "Today, we celebrate. I am quite happy to say that it has been a year since the death of the Wicked Witch!"

She fought back the instinctual cringe at the sound of the deliriously happy cheers below her.

And they sang. They sang in the same mocking tune, the sound that brought a twinge to her heart with each word and threatened to bring tears to her eyes once more.

"_Ding dong, a year has passed! Sing it loud: the peace has last. Ding dong! Our fear is in the past! ..."_

Glinda was proud of herself for keeping her plastered expression unwavering for the entire time she stood in the bubble like a figurine, smiling and waving. When the contraption finally started lowering itself down, she let out a breath of relief, allowing her smile to falter.

Her aide was there once she reached the bottom again. Her distress must have showed, though, for at once the aide asked, "Are you all right, Miss Glinda?"

Glinda laughed and nodded. "Of course, why wouldn't I be? This is a wonderful day, is it not?"

The 'wonderful day' was nearly unbearable. Countless brainless fools came up to her to shake her hand and told her how fantastic of a job she had been doing while the Wizard was away (obviously, they had not received the memo that he was gone for good yet). Ozians paraded, drank, feasted, and _sang_. Everywhere there were countless reminders of her friend's death. It was enough to make anyone go crazy.

The first, brief reprieve came late in the afternoon.

"Lady Glinda?" A former high-ranking official in the Gale Force tapped her on the shoulder as she was chatting with a noble from the Glikkus.

Glinda turned around, trying to convey her gratitude through her expression as she nodded.

He must've understood, for a small smile formed as he bowed. It was gone as he straightened, all business once more. "A message for you from Southstairs."

Glinda's legs went numb as she processed the meaning. "Yes, thank you," she said, taking the proffered note. "Did they say which prisoner it was from?"

"Cell 5132A, I believe." When she remained silent, he smiled at her encouragingly. "Don't worry, Lady Glinda. They had it checked for curses and the like."

Glinda smiled at the man, hoping her nervousness did not show. "Thank you," she said again, tucking the note into her sash; she had memorised that cell number a while ago.

Excusing herself, she left the duchess she had been talking with, promising to catch up at another time, and half-heartedly headed back to the Emerald Palace once more. With each step, her forged expression seemed to fade, the worry lines reappearing under the thick coat of makeup.

Whatever small amount of calm she had left fled upon setting foot in Southstairs. The prison was dark and damp, a harsh contradiction to the balmy environment outside. Where the sunlight did shine through barred windows, the imprint was filthy and sickly, casting eerie shadows along the walls. The cheers and songs from outside faded, replaced with moans from the prisoners. Once her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, Glinda saw they were reaching towards her.

"Look what you've done to me!" one cried. "Look at what I've become!"

"Glinda, dear," another called out. "You're so _good_. Be a doll and help me get out of here?"

She ignored the catcalls and jeers, instead focusing on the steady footsteps of the guards surrounding her. She looked down, watching her shoes sparkle dully in the dank light, trying to pretend she was back in Shiz, where her only worries were what clothes matched, who was dating whom, and what the latest fashions were. It worked, for the most part, until she reached cell 5132A.

The prisoner was hunched in the corner farthest from Glinda, huddled so her face was cloaked in shadow, completely out of sight. Though she was clothed, the prisoner looked worse-for-wear, as though she could drop dead any moment.

"Leave us," Glinda heard herself say to the guards.

"But Lady Glinda-" they started to dissent.

She raised her hand calmly, amazed that it wasn't shaking, quieting their protests. "I can handle her," she asserted, dismissing them.

The woman in the cell cackled shrilly, the eerie noise sending shivers down Glinda's spine. "Handle me, can you, dearie?" The inhabitants in the cells nearby laughed sycophantically- this was the most amusement they had seen for a while.

"Silence," Glinda hissed. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Morrible?" She spat the name out like a curse.

Madame Morrible, ex-headmistress of Shiz University, simpered. "What happened to the nice, polite 'Madame' I used to get from you, dearie?"

"Galinda decided she didn't like submission."

Morrible laughed, a terrible, wheezing, hacking laugh that sounded like she was on her deathbed.

Glinda folded her arms over her chest to both hide her goosebumps and to depict defiance.

"Oh, excuse me for laughing at you, Glinda dear," Morrible said, a mocking edge to her voice still apparent. "You reminded me of another student I used to have just then. Surely you remember Miss Thropp?"

Glinda's blood ran cold. "Don't you dare speak about Elphaba."

Morrible's eyebrows shot up before an understanding expression took over. "Oh, you must forgive me. I forgot today was the anniversary of the Witch's death! Isn't today a _joyous_ day? Thank goodness we have Glinda dear here to remind us of such things!"

All of the prison within earshot burst out laughing. One cried, "No one mourns the wicked!"

"Shut up," Glinda whispered, her voice cracking.

Morrible ignored her. "Didn't they sing? I thought I heard them earlier. What was it now? _Ding dong, the Witch is dead?_"

What little resolve Glinda had left shattered. "Shut up!" she cried, banging on the metal bars that separated her from Morrible, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "Stop it!"

Her tears only fuelled the inmates' glee, prompting them to start singing joyfully. "_Ding dong, the Witch is dead! Which old witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding dong, the Wicked Witch is dead!_"

When Morrible finally stopped her cronies, Glinda looked at her murderously. "You have your little fun," she said, "but you're still in that cell and I'm still out here. She _won_. _She_ beat _you_, and you're destroying her memory because you're jealous of everything she was."

"She won?" Morrible repeated, chuckling incredulously. "She's _dead_. I destroyed her hopes and dreams, one by one, until she finally surrendered herself to put an end to it all. She lost, and you're the only one who still cares about her. Take a look at yourself, Glinda. You're pathetic. You're miserable."

"She won," Glinda said again, her voice stronger than before. "The Wizard's gone; you're imprisoned; and there's someone on the throne who knows the truth, someone who'll do everything she can to start securing Animal rights. She got everything she wanted, and she'll be remembered, even if for the wrong things. People will remember the Witch of the West. Who'll remember Madame Morrible in twenty years, besides you and your sycophants?"

Morrible grinned, her toothy smile predatory in the murky light. "You will, dearie. You'll remember me."

Glinda smoothed out her dress, attempting to regain her composure. "Have a good day, Morrible," she murmured, turning to leave.

"You were there, when she died?" Morrible asked, her tone more declarative than interrogative.

Glinda clenched her fists, trying to drown out the sudden onslaught of recollection. The scene replayed in her mind's eye… Dorothy whimpering, the wretched dog yapping, Elphaba's screams… "Yes," she murmured, her throat tight.

"And yet you let her go to her doom?" For the first time in recent memory, Morrible sounded truly surprised.

Glinda swallowed hard, her guilt rising again. "Please," she whispered. "I don't expect you to understand my reasoning. We may have our differences – we may hate each other- but don't torment me."

"Fine," Morrible said shortly. When Glinda looked up at her in surprise, she said simply, "But answer me this: If you could do it all again, would you let it happen the same way? Would you sacrifice your friend to stop the Wizard?"

She didn't even have to think. "Absolutely not."

Morrible snorted. "Pathetic, how selfish people get when they care."

Glinda raised her chin to look down her nose at her former headmistress. "And would you do it the same, Madame? Would you choose Elphaba even though she has a fiery will?"

"Yes," Morrible answered, not missing a beat. "One of a politician's most beloved tools is a scapegoat, Glinda. You'll soon learn that."

"I'll never be like you," Glinda retorted.

Morrible chuckled. "Don't be so sure, Glinda dear. I've taught you well. You're blooming into a lovely little politician."

Glinda broke the reigning silence a few moments later when she bobbed her head to the woman, said her goodbyes, and hurried out of the prison as fast as her heeled feet would carry her.

Oz, she hated this day.

* * *

With dinner came another meeting, this time with the Tin Man. The only sociable remaining member of the Witch Hunters (for the Scarecrow had disappeared all but immediately after Elphaba had died and the Lion had retired to being 'king of the forest', as he had put it), he spent the better part of an hour chatting about how they killed her and the numerous merits he had received because of it.

When it finally became apparent that she was not enjoying herself despite her best efforts to appear as though she was, the Tin Man stopped babbling. "Are you all right, Miss Glinda?" he asked, a small hint of concern showing in his voice.

That made her snap out of her daze. "Beg pardon? I'm sorry; I'm having a terrible day."

The ghost of something flitted across the Tin Man's face before he repeated, "I just was wondering if you were all right. You seem a little upset."

She smiled. "Thank you for your concern but I assure you, I am quite fine, Master Tin Man. I… It's just, I received news that a friend of mine died."

"Oh? Was it a recent death?" The metal face still reflected a strange, unreadable expression.

"No," Glinda said, forcing any bitterness out of her voice. "It was- actually, it was about a year ago."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that," the Tin Man replied. "Surely you're experiencing conflicting emotions right about now, then. Happiness for Oz and your citizens, since it's the Witch's death day, and sadness for your… friend."

Glinda's eyebrow raised a notch. She paused for a moment before she said, "Yes, well, you know how these things are, Master Tin Man."

He snorted- an odd, raspy metallic sound. "I'm sure I do." There was a long pause in which he gazed at her calculatingly. "You miss her."

"Beg pardon?"

"You miss her," he repeated, an odd smile forming on his face.

Glinda laughed. "My friend? Of course I do, what sort of a question is that?"

"You know who I'm talking about, Miss Glinda," the Tin Man said.

Glinda blinked owlishly before hastening to change the subject. "Why do you call me that- Miss Glinda?"

Now it was the Tin Man's turn to laugh, though his laugh had a noticeably larger amount of bitterness infused in it. "You're not very subtle, you know." He sighed before answering her. "I call you that because I'm used to it." An odd, strained smile formed on his face as he continued, "Old habits die hard, right?"

"Do I know you?" she asked incredulously, straining to place him with something other than the Witch Hunters and Elphaba's death.

He'd lost patience, obviously. "No, Glinda. You never knew me. You never bothered to take the time to even learn my name. You thought I was irritating, not good enough for sweet, perfect Galinda, so you stuck me on the first person you saw! You ruined my life, Glinda, and hers. She and her _wicked_ sister are the reason I'm like this!"

Glinda stood up, horrified. "Biq?" she asked, frightened of the twisted creature the sweet Munchkin she knew at Shiz had turned out to be.

"Boq, dammit, it's Boq! For Oz's sake, Glinda!" He too was now on his feet, though she couldn't quite remember when he had gotten up.

"What happened to you?" she asked, agape.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say, for he slammed his metal fist on the table furiously. "Your _friend_ happened to me. Oz! Why do you mourn her, Glinda?" he asked, magicked eyes lighting up in fury as he advanced on her menacingly. "Why do you mourn her? She was as wicked as everyone thought and you believed her to the bitter end. Hell, you still believe her!"

She ignored him. "How could you?" she asked, cold fury seeping into her voice. "I might have been able to forgive you if you were just a heartless Tin Man- someone who was indifferent about her, someone who never knew her, who never knew the kind of person that she was. Lurlina, Boq! You _knew_ her! You knew she wasn't a murderer and-"

"And she still betrayed me same as she did everyone else," he interrupted feverishly.

"You're despicable," Glinda murmured, shaking her head in disbelief. "Nyanna?" she called.

Her maid appeared several seconds later. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Please escort our guest to the door." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Nyanna curtsied. "Yes, ma'am."

The Tin Man- Boq, she now knew- sneered. "Thank you for the lovely dinner, Lady Glinda," he said mockingly. "I can show myself to the door, thank you," he hissed at Nyanna when she tried to guide him, startling the younger woman. He exited the room with a loud slam of the door, causing a nearby vase to fall off its pedestal and shatter.

Glinda promptly burst into tears.

"Don't worry, Lady Glinda. It's just a little vase," Nyanna murmured, trying to be consoling as she started to pick up the broken shards of glass.

Glinda shook her head fiercely. "Oh, it's not that. Just leave it; I'll get it."

"If milady's sure?"

"Positive," Glinda replied, smiling weakly at the eager maid.

Her mind raced as she picked up the remaining pieces of glass and cleared the table. What had happened to Boq to make him this bitter? How in the world had he gone from sweet, shy Munchkin to remorseless killer?

She wept herself to sleep that night. She wept for the past, for herself and her inability to do anything good, for Nessarose and Boq, whose lives she had ruined, for the inhumane _thing_ Boq had become, and for Elphaba, the only one of them who had done the right thing.

* * *

_Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack._

Glinda awoke feeling exhausted as one does after a long, restless sleep. What in the world was that clacking noise? She sat up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. One glimpse of her surroundings caused her to sit bolt upright in confusion.

What in Oz…? She had awoken on a train. And she certainly didn't remember falling asleep on one.

This was not good.

A quick overview of her surroundings confirmed that she was indeed alone. Had she somehow sleepwalked onto a train? Did someone bring her here? Was she just going insane?

"Next stop, Shiz University!" came the call from the conductor, clear as day.

Oh, no, she was definitely past insane.

Rubbing at her temples, Glinda stood up and began searching in the cabinet above the train bench. Several large, heavy parcels rolled under her fingers. The majority of them felt as though they were Gillikinese leather (made from cows, of course; there were strict laws against tanning Cow hides), though some were of a less costly material. She felt around until her fingers clutched a metal handle. She gripped it firmly with two hands and tugged. It came down fast, landing on her toe- _Lurline_, that hurt. She rubbed her toe as she turned the trunk over, immediately recoiling in horror. The imprinted letters read, in a fancy, golden script: _Galinda A. Upland_.

How in the world…?

_Oh Oz_, she thought as the situation sunk in, _I'm back at Shiz._

This certainly was _not_ good.


	2. Making Good

**A/N:** Mwah! -kisses reviewers- You guys rock. 20 reviews for one chapter?! Holy hell, keep up the good work. Here's the second chapter, edited once again by my oh-so-lovely beta, Jelly :D.

-shameless advertising here- Interested in what pairings this story shall hold? What the major conflicts will be? And other various questions? xP Look at my FFN forums for discussions and polls in which YOUR votes help decide the story's outcome!

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**Making Good**

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This was not good.

This was impossible. This _had to_ be a dream.

Glinda rubbed her sore toe, trying to ward off the anxiety beginning to consume her. This wasn't a dream.

This was impossible.

"Miss Galinda!"

After a moment's hesitation (for, after all, no one had called her that name in years), Glinda turned to face the speaker.

"Bi- Boq?" she asked, stomach dropping as she saw Boq. Not the Tin Man, not a slave in the Governor's clutches, but Boq, the eager student she once knew, complete with knit cap. She smiled weakly.

Apparently, this was possible.

"Miss Galinda, I just wanted to let you know that if we have any classes together this semester, you're welcome to sit by me. You know, that is, if you want to. If you don't know anyone else in that class, that is." With each word that slipped from his mouth, the poor Munchkin seemed to grow more and more nervous, his words jumbling and his grip slipping from the messenger bag he was toting.

So happy to see this Boq compared to the heartless man she last saw him as, Glinda gave him a genuine smile. "I'd like that," she replied, and was a bit surprised to realise she meant it.

He looked as if Lurlinemas had come early by the time he walked off, mumbling incoherently.

Alright, so perhaps this wasn't that bad. Actually, this was good. This was really good.

'_If you could do it all again, would you let it happen the same way?_' Morrible's words rang in her ears, as clear as day. Glinda swallowed hard to rid herself of the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.

This was _wonderful_.

* * *

As the train approached the station for Shiz, Glinda found herself on edge with anticipation and dread for the upcoming meeting in the Entrance Hall. First impressions were such a delicate thing; what if she screwed it all up? Could she live with herself, if she had the opportunity to do it all over and instead was forced to watch her friends from the sidelines?

Once she had collected her several bags (why had she insisted on toting so many things around when she was younger?), she started making her way towards the campus when a group of people called out her name.

A gaggle of her old friends that she had known in Shiz (or back in Gillikin, she supposed) ran up to her, a few of them bouncing in excitement; she recognised Pfannee and Shenshen as well as a few others.

"Oh, Galinda, isn't it positively gorgeous?" Shenshen asked, giggling as she looked at the campus.

Ugh. The incessant, silly chattering was driving her insane. Why in Oz had she befriended them in the first place?

A sudden crack of lightning seized everyone's attention, followed by a sudden downpour of rain. Wonderful: now instead of gossiping the ridiculous girls were screaming about how the horrid water would ruin their makeup and frizz their hair. A little rain never hurt anyone-

Her train of thought stopped abruptly as she entered the hall. _That's not true_, she thought, straining to see a flash of green amongst the crowd, something- or someone, rather- to confirm her irrational thoughts that she had somehow gone back to Shiz… or rather, Shiz as it had been, once upon a time. _A little water can hurt_.

Inevitably, her old friend became exposed as the crowd dispersed immediately upon entering the main hall: Elphaba was alone but for Nessarose on the far side of the room. Everyone was, of course, goggling at her.

"Am I supposed to be doing some sort of trick?" Elphaba asked curtly, throwing the hall into silence. When there was no answer, she continued, "I suppose so, for all of you are staring at me like I'm an exhibit."

Glinda felt her throat close up. There was no denying it: that truly was Elphaba. It took all of her willpower not to run to her old friend and sob in her shoulder.

"If the exhibit is of rejected portraits, perhaps," some girl whispered behind Glinda, sending the group into a giggling fit. Oh, please. That wasn't even funny, just dumb.

Before Elphaba had the chance to make another snappy remark, the doors on the opposite end of the room burst open, revealing a sight that caused shivers to go down Glinda's spine: Morrible.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome," the headmistress said airily. "I am Madame Morrible, your headmistress here at Shiz University. I assure you your stay here shall be a pleasant one, whether you are here to expand your scientific grasps, become a political leader, or study ancient lore. Now- room assignments. Does anyone have any special issues they'd like to bring forth at this point in time?"

Elphaba wheeled Nessa's chair closer to Morrible and said, "Madame, my father should have sent word about my sister's condition-"

"Ah, yes. The governor's daughters? Yes, he made it quite clear. Your sister shall have her own room in my private quarters, where I can assist her," Morrible explained, not even missing a beat upon seeing Elphaba's skin colour.

Elphaba shook her head vehemently. "Madame, that's not really necessary. I assure you, I can take care of her fine; I always have-"

Morrible just smiled. "Don't worry, dear. We'll find some place to put you." Stepping towards the throng of students, she called out, "Would anyone care to volunteer to share a dorm with Miss Thropp?"

Silence. Glinda took a sharp breath. This was her chance- a fresh starting point. Steadily, she took a step forward and raised her hand.

Elphaba's face immediately knotted- it was obvious she was trying to discern a possible way as to how the blonde could be tricking her. Glinda just offered her a weak smile.

Everyone was gaping at her, completely surprised. That was just insulting; had she really been that shallow? Actually, come to think of it, the only person _not_ gaping at her in awe was Madame Morrible- the wizened woman was still smiling, her cold eyes boring into Glinda calculatingly. Glinda met her gaze and the two simply stared at one another, neither willing to break contact, until Morrible looked away, stating, "Ah, Miss Upland. How kind, dear; giving up your private suite for the benefit of another."

The whispering began, spreading through the hall faster than wildfire.

Elphaba grabbed her solitary trunk and muttered an unenthusiastic, "Thanks," under her breath.

Glinda just smiled again, grabbing a few of her own valises. "It's no problem," she replied, forcing a cheery tone to cover the increasing tightness in her throat. "If I were in your position, I'd want someone to do the same for me."

Elphaba snorted. "I don't need your charity."

Glinda had to resist the temptation to laugh. _Oh yes_, she thought sardonically. _Things are definitely starting out differently._

"Any other issues regarding room assignments?" Madam Morrible cried, trying to be heard above the din. No one paid her much heed; they were too busy already whispering about the oddly-paired roommates. "No? Good, then. To your rooms! Come, come." She clapped her hands to get their attention as if they were dogs.

The path to their dormitories was foreboding in contrast to the immense joy and disbelief Glinda was feeling. With each step, her heart grew lighter as she began to formulate all sorts of ways to change what had happened before, yet the storm had begun, and earlier this time: she was already being avoided as if she had a plague. Honestly, did the students really hate Elphaba that much that even daring to associate with the misfortunate girl caused such tumult in their precious social order? _Well, bully to_ _them_, she thought irritably. The fanatical girl who was Galinda was long gone- as was her fixation with social standing. Good riddance.

And in the wake of Galinda's demise was something much sweeter- a surprising delight without any of the sugary appearances she had once enjoyed keeping. In Galinda's place now was Glinda. And Glinda was determined to save her friends, no matter the cost.

The new roommates reached their dormitory without breaking the slightly tense silence that had enveloped them. Upon entering the small room, however, Glinda tried once more to initiate friendly conversation.

Tried being the key word.

"Miss Elphaba?" she said, trying to get the girl's attention. Well, it worked, for her roommate slowly raised her head and turned to stare at Glinda as if she had suddenly sprouted two extra heads. "Do you have a preference as to which bed?" she continued nervously, wondering what in the world could prompt Elphaba's current expression.

"No, not particularly," Elphaba replied. There was a long, silent pause in which the two girls continued to look at one another before Elphaba broke it once more with a pointed look. "I'm sorry; I don't believe I caught your name."

_Crap_.In sudden fear and surprise, Glinda stopped trying to lug her suitcase further into the room a little too abruptly and fell to the carpeted floor. She looked up at her roommate from her ridiculous position on the ground and said tentatively, "Gl- Galinda. Galinda Upland."

"Well, Miss Galinda," Elphaba said, pressing her lips together in a painfully thin smile, "Obviously your talents are far beyond my imagination, for you've somehow managed to conjure up my name without my knowledge. Share your secrets, I beg of you."

Glinda scrambled up off the floor, running a hand through her hair. _Think, you _blonde _numbskull!_ Glinda laughed, trying not to let her nervousness show. "Oh, what, you think I would just intuitively know your name? That's daft. I- I heard… I heard you and your sister talking before, in the entrance hall. What's her name- Nessa?"

Elphaba's eyes only narrowed, examining the blonde as if to try to find an error with her story. When she obviously couldn't, she sighed and said, "Yes, her name's Nessarose."

A relieved smile broke across Glinda's face. "So, which bed?"

* * *

It was much later that night and the two roommates were still treading water carefully, as if one breath too deep would shatter the conceptions and illusions they had built up about one another. They had spent the day apart and each had been alone, musing in their own thoughts. Dinner had been nearly unbearable, as Glinda had always taken her time eating, and everyone had stared at and whispered about her the entire dinner. Elphaba, on the other hand, scoffed down a small portion of food in record time, and disappeared entirely. Glinda had been forced to endure a thorough interrogation by those she had once called her friends, wishing she were anywhere else.

It was a good while after sunset now, however, and the newly-assigned roommates were lying on their respective beds, Elphaba absorbed nose-deep into a book, Glinda lying on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, Elphaba shut the book with a 'thud'. "Why?" she asked, her demeanour and tone quite calm, the only thing giving away her emotions her eyes, which were currently staring at Glinda.

"Why what, Miss Elphaba?" Glinda responded, bewildered as to what on earth could be bothering her.

Elphaba set her book down and sat up, hunching her shoulders. "Why did you volunteer to be my roommate? I've been mulling over it and trying to figure out some way as to _why_ all day. And I can't come up with anything. So please. Just… please, tell me. Why?"

Glinda merely blinked. She couldn't remember Elphaba ever asking her for something while they were at Shiz, nor could she remember her acting this irrational and upset. It was, she realised with a start, the first time Elphaba had ever begged her for anything. She was completely at a loss. "I wanted to," was the only answer she could supply, though she knew it wouldn't be sufficient.

Elphaba buried her face in her hands. "Don't lie," she spat, though she didn't seem angry. On the contrary, she seemed like she was about to cry- something Glinda had only seen her do one time before.

"Miss Elphaba, I assure you, I wanted to. That's all," Glinda said softly, moving to grip the girl's shoulder.

Elphaba, however, whirled around and insisted intensely, "I know you're lying. You have to be. Please, tell me the truth!"

Glinda's throat closed slightly and she found it harder to breathe. "What do you want me to do, Elphaba?" she finally said. "Lie and make up some ridiculous excuse that you'd expect of me as to why I volunteered? Oh, I was dared to do it. No, I thought that it'd generate sympathy. No, wait, I did it to _spy_ on you." She threw her hands up in the air incredulously, trying to hide her guilt that she was, indeed, hiding something from Elphaba.

There was a long silence before Glinda cleared her throat and spoke once more. "You know," she murmured, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "I would think that being so different than the norm would make you despise those who judge others before getting to know them."

One of Elphaba's eyebrows elegantly rose into an arch as she silently questioned her new roommate.

Glinda cringed, wishing she had thought of a better phrasing before opening her dratted mouth. "What I mean, Miss Elphaba," she started to clarify, adding the honorific once more in hopes of placating the easily-offended girl, "is you don't know me yet, but you're still very quick to label me as one of those people whose every action has to be beneficial to themselves. I'm not necessarily that way." Well, she wasn't. Anymore, at least.

Elphaba's eyebrow promptly dropped as she rolled her eyes, a smirk appearing on her face. "Well, the vast array of suitcases you brought made me think you were in to material things. The powder that you have caked on your face looks quite expensive, as does the bright red lip-gloss you're wearing, so those led me to believe you were also quite concerned with your appearance. The _poodles_ you associate yourself with are the epitome of materialism."

Grasping for words, Glinda stuttered a few times, letting her gaze roam around the room, before it finally landed on the mirror. _Perfect_. "Well," she returned, "appearances can be deceiving."

Upon finding no worthy comeback to that, Elphaba harrumphed and returned to her book in silence.

The two continued their night much like that, neither breaking the silence that had fallen upon them as thick as the fallen leaves on the windowsill. It wasn't until the very end of the night was at hand that Elphaba opened her mouth once more.

"Thank you," she breathed, a heavy sigh trailing at the end as though it had taken an enormous amount of effort to do so.

Through Elphaba's clenched teeth, the stuffy silence of night, and the muffled cushion of the blankets surrounding her head, Glinda had to strain to hear the words. She did, though, and a smile lit upon her face as she not only processed their meaning, but also picked up on the subtle undertones of gratitude.

"It was my pleasure, Miss Elphaba," Glinda responded, hoping her own appreciation was apparent.

Dreams were taking over and the only sound in the room was that of the Crickets chorusing outside. Glinda was almost asleep when she heard Elphaba again.

"Elphaba."

"Hmm?" mumbled Glinda.

She did not know it was possible to _hear_ a smirk. "You can call me Elphaba."

Glinda smiled drowsily. "And you can call me Galinda." A pang of sorrow hit her as she was reminded of a similar moment she'd experienced before. She buried her head in the pillow, ignoring it.

Nostalgia could wait for the morning.


	3. Good Vibrations

**A/N:** Oh. My. Oz. I have the best readers/reviewers in the world :D. You all deserve a cookie. -hands cookies out-

(And also, thanks to everyone who voted for me in Wolfie's Wicked FFN Awards! For Good won an award )

OR WAIT, EVEN BETTER? An update? So here! (Psst Jelly hasn't gotten the time to beta it fully, my apologies ;S). If this chapter sounds like I was on drugs while I wrote it... well, technically, I was ;.;. I've been switching medications around and this is the result xD. "Neurocognitive dysfunction" is the term, according to Dy. But happy Wicked day to you all!

(Psst!) If any of you come up with an idea for a new poll in my For Good forums (more shameless advertising), I'll give you a prize. Not sure what it is, yet, but oh well. Long Author's Note over. Enjoy :)

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.  
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**Good Vibrations**

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Glinda awoke the next morning in alarm, having forgotten for a few moments where she was. Once the reality set back in, she closed her eyes once more, feeling far too exhausted to get up eagerly. The sounds of Shiz were in the air. She had nearly forgotten how busy the school sounded in the mornings: friends chattering as they strolled by, food being prepared and eaten in the canteen, professors discussing their upcoming subjects amongst themselves, students debating over the littlest things…

She groaned and rolled over, stuffing her pillow over her tousled morning hair, feeling her neck protest sharply as a crick pulled. She had also forgotten how _uncomfortable_ the dorm beds were. She had become used to the pampered, plush life at the palace and these lumps and dips in her bed were not agreeing with her.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," a familiar voice drawled from the other side of the room. "Class starts in ten minutes and I'm not waking you up again if you fall back asleep."

Glinda smiled into her pillow, thanking Oz Elphaba could not see how misty her eyes were. When had she become so nostalgic?

_Probably when my fiancé left me for my friend, they both died, and my whole life went to hell_, she mused grouchily as she threw her covers back and began to make her bed. The whole process was rather quick, despite Glinda's clumsiness at the subject- for, after all, her maids hadn't allowed her to make a bed in quite some time. The whole getting-ready-for-classes process was like learning to read or write, she supposed: one never quite forgot how to do it.

She shuffled sleepily over to the desk where her makeup and other personal effects lay scattered helter-skelter. As she applied a light bit of cover-up to soften the sleepless shadows under her eyes, the hairs on the back of her head stood up. She turned around as soon as she capped the bottle, confirming that Elphaba was indeed staring at her.

"What?" Glinda asked, not really in the mood for another confrontation with her irascible roommate.

Elphaba's eyes promptly dropped. "Nothing."

Deciding to forgo the rest of her usual makeup palette, Glinda sighed and gathered the books she would need for the morning classes. She hesitated upon turning towards the door and, inevitably, Elphaba. "Miss Elphaba? …Would you mind walking with me to class today?" She hugged her books to her chest, inexplicably nervous about something as silly as walking to class.

Elphaba stopped stuffing her messenger bag full of books for a moment and paused, not looking at Glinda. Her response was short and brusque, but it did not hold any of the iciness Glinda associated with their first few weeks as roommates. "Why not walk with your friends?"

"Friends?" Glinda repeated before chuckling hollowly. "They interrogated me all day yesterday and now have come to the conclusion that I'm a threat to their precious, perfect popularity because I offered to share a room with you. Friends shouldn't be expendable."

The room was silent as Elphaba packed up her bag and slung it across her shoulders. As she adjusted her pleated hair, she sighed. "No, I don't mind, Miss Galinda," she replied.

Glinda moved to the door first, hoping to clear any tension that still lingered. "I thought I said you could call me Galinda?" she teased.

Elphaba let out a rare genuine laugh. "Yes, but you called me Miss Elphaba first."

"I did?" Glinda's brow furrowed as she tried to recall the previous conversation and, upon doing so, broke into a fit of giggles. "Well, I plead lack of oxygen from the ridiculous outfits I've been wearing. The tight curls probably don't help much, either."

It was nice to see Elphaba smile again, she decided.

* * *

Glinda was taken by surprise to find that she sincerely enjoyed Dr. Dillamond's class. Politics had given her a sardonic view of the world; she found herself agreeing with the bitter comments the Goat made- especially on the subject of scapegoats. One comment from the professor about the political situation in Oz and how corrupt the government had become had set the class off into a lively debate- Elphaba and Glinda at the forefront of it.

She was so engaged in the discussion, in fact, that she nearly forgot what had happened the first time around- the blackboard message. It came screeching back to her when Shenshen threw her a nasty look and said she was "no better than those filthy Animals for offering to room with the string bean."

Elphaba's enraged retort (for the Animals, mostly- not on Glinda's behalf) and Dillamond's attempts to placate the sudden arguments breaking out went over Glinda's head as she furrowed her brow, deep in thought.

It was one of her most shameful memories, this class. Upon finding out that Elphaba fiercely defended Animal rights, Galinda had mentioned something to her gaggle of girlfriends, asking them if they knew any way they could use that to their benefit. Shenshen, of course, took it a step too far and wrote that heinous message on the board, much to Galinda's shock and horror. No one had ever found out what the girls had done, of course, but it was still embarrassing to remember.

Would it still happen now that she had not said a word to her "friends"? She had not mentioned anything about the Animal situation to them- actually, she had not spoken to them at all since arriving at Shiz, save for the interrogation she received the previous night.

"Settle down! Settle down, class!" Dillamond's voice punctured her musings as he rapped a gavel on a desk. Silence reigned. "There. Now, perhaps these questions that I have prepared will help you to understand-"

Glinda watched in trepidation as Dillamond ambled over to the blackboard and spun it around on its hinges.

There, clear as day, in bloodlike, spindly writing, was the same haunting message. _ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD._

Dr. Dillamond's colour went from plum to scarlet to pasty white. Though the classroom was as silent as death, Glinda's mind was roaring. How in Oz…? How did this occur if she had nothing to do with it? True, Elphaba's enmity for the Banns was no secret, but the girls had little to no creativity – they probably would not have done such a thing if not spurred to do so the first time.

Were their fates immutable? Did nothing she do or say matter at all? If so, she was completely forsaken- and she could think of no worse fate than to have to sit back and watch the same events happen a second time. A shiver ran down her spine as Dillamond barked his dismissal towards the class. She did not need a second reminder: she fled as fast as her feet would carry her.

She had research to do- and fast.

* * *

Dr. Dillamond's class had ended nearly three-quarters of an hour shorter than scheduled, giving Glinda plenty of time to drop her things off at her dormitory and head towards the one place she once would have rather died than be seen at: the library.

The radical change she had gone through had not gone unnoticed, either: a male student she vaguely recognised from Gillikin as having once dated goggled at her as she drifted towards the librarian's desk.

"Excuse me," she said, drawing the woman's attention from the book she was buried in. She looked irritated- a bad sign. "I'm sorry to bother you," Glinda added hurriedly, "but I need to research something, and I don't know where to start."

The frown on the librarian's face softened some. "Of course, dear. How can I help?"

"Well," Glinda started, drawing out the syllable to an extreme length, "I'm writing a dissertation for my elective-" It hit her. Elective. She was not taking sorcery yet- _and neither was Elphaba_. Because Glinda had volunteered to share a room with her, Elphaba had been suspicious rather than angry. That little scene in the entrance hall had not happened. _Morrible had not seen Elphaba perform magic!_

Oh, this was wonderful. Perhaps this would not be as hard as she had thought, now that the Wizard was out of the picture…? For now, at least. There was an excellent possibility that Elphaba would lose control, as she often did, and Glinda would be back to square one again.

Glinda realised that the librarian was still watching her, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "Sorry," she stammered. "I'm writing a dissertation for my elective about the theories of fate and how it can affect our decisions."

The librarian frowned. "As in, theories about how our actions are predetermined?"

"Exactly."

"My dear girl," she said with a laugh, "this is a university. We focus on real things, not silly theories that at best have personal interest. Even if fate were to exist, it would not affect scientific workings. You would be much better off looking in a collection of religious works."

Surprisingly, the curt disapproval did not infuriate Glinda as much as it once would have. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your time, anyway."

The glimmer of a satisfied smile that appeared on the librarian's face was enough to dissipate any lingering irritation Glinda was feeling. Though she was left without any guidance as to where to start looking, she figured she might as well begin the long search through the shelves.

Sorcery, though. What in Oz was she to do about that? It was not as though she had a choice: if she were to go to Elphaba and say, "Oh, Elphie, I know 'strange things' happen to you when you get mad or upset, but could you be a dear and try and control yourself around Morrible," her friend would think she had gone off the deep end. Perhaps she would just have to distract Morrible…?

On the other hand, if worse were to come to worse, Glinda did have some advantage: she knew how things panned out originally.

Only time could tell, now.

* * *

When Glinda re-entered the dormitory, it was much later; the sky was becoming dusted with stars as silence enveloped the school.

Elphaba looked up from the book she was reading in surprise. "You've been out for a while," she said as she adjusted the pillow that she was leaning on.

"Yes, Momsie, I was working," Glinda said, giggling a bit at her friend's reaction. Oz, she was so easy to rile.

Elphaba shook her head absent-mindedly. "You're an odd duck, Galinda."

Glinda's giggles increased as she began to put her books away. "Quack." She was grateful for these little silly moments.

"You've proven my point marvellously."

"I live to entertain."

Elphaba was certainly opening up fast, Glinda mused, even if the smile currently painted on her face was a tad apprehensive. As Glinda was examining her, Elphaba spoke again. "So, what were you working on?"

Caught unawares, Glinda blushed, her cheeks warming uncomfortably. "Oh, nothing major," she murmured, folding up a dress that was hanging off the end of her bed and busying herself in general.

"You were in the library on the first day of classes. Most people call me a bookworm, and yet I wasn't in the library today," Elphaba countered, looking more and more sceptical with each moment that passed.

Glinda sighed, flopping down onto her bed, trying to find a comfortable position. "If you must know, Elphie, I was looking up information on fate and destiny."

"Elphie," Elphaba repeated, looking more shocked and mocking than Glinda could recall ever having seen her. "Elphie?"

"Elphie-aba?" Glinda tried, grinning sheepishly. "Too early for me to give you a nickname, I suppose."

Still looking rather startled, Elphaba gave out a short bark of laughter. "It's not necessarily the fact that you made up a nickname- though it is a little sudden. It's mostly just the fact that the nickname… well, it's very perky, to be quite frank."

A grin stretching across her face out of its own accord, Glinda nodded. "Sorry."

Elphaba shook her head in bemusement once more. "So, what were you looking for information on fate and destiny for? Did you want to check the validity of your horoscope?"

Glinda sighed. Some things would never change. "No, actually. It's for a dissertation I'm writing," she avowed, using the same excuse that she had made up in the library. "I want to see if there's any credibility behind the assumptions that have been made on the subject of destiny. You don't find it even a little fascinating, the idea that everything we do could be predetermined?"

Elphaba was not drawn into the discussion as easily as she had hoped. "Not as much as you might think. Even if I were, what would it matter? If it did exist, nothing I did or said would matter in the long run anyway- and that is a fairly depressing view. I rather enjoy my ability to speak and act however my mind pleases; saying everything I do is all part of my 'destiny' would cheapen my actions a bit, don't you think?"

"But what if you have the ability to control your own fate?" Glinda countered, sincerely interested in what her opinionated roommate thought on the matter.

"Isn't that a bit oxymoronic? Controlling your own fate? If fate is predetermined, nothing you can say or do matters. Ergo, you have no control over your own fate whatsoever." Elphaba had put her book down by this point, focusing all her attention into the discussion. She looked truly beautiful when she was debating, her eyes alight with passion and all self-consciousness disposed.

"Alright, then what if fate isn't predetermined? What if every little action you make has an effect on the 'greater picture,' and the fate of your future therefore lies within your hands and actions?"

Elphaba sat back, letting silence envelop the room once more. "You were right," she murmured a few moments later.

Though she was somewhat surprised to find that she was disappointed that the conversation ended, Glinda accepted the change in conversation without a word. "I was right? About what, if I may ask?"

"I misjudged you," Elphaba said simply, averting her eyes from Glinda's inquiring gaze.

"Oh," was all Glinda could think to say in response. "Well, we all make mistakes about people."

When her eyes met Elphaba's again, she was shocked at the raw, unguarded emotion she saw for a few moments before her roommate pulled up her defences once more. "Isn't that the truth," she murmured, her mind obviously other places.

The reigning silence was swallowing Glinda up; she did not want this conversation to end. Not now, not when she was learning so many things about her friend that she unfortunately did not know before. "So, Elphaba, what elective are you taking?" Glinda asked, partly out of genuine curiosity, but mostly just to keep the conversation going and to keep her roommate away from her book.

She was answered with a feral grin. "Political sciences."

Glinda's mouth twitched as she imagined the horrors the poor students in that class would have to be faced with. "Oh? You're interested in politics, then?"

"Actually, it's not so much that I'm interested in politics that I'm fed up with the audacity of the modern political spectrum and want to make sure I know all I can to use against said idiots."

It was such an Elphaba comment that Glinda felt herself getting choked up again. "Another subject you feel strongly about, I take it?" she managed to croak out.

"Yes, just a bit," Elphaba said, amusement seeping through every pore of her tone. "I suppose that's one of the side effects that comes from having a radical, ridiculous, religious fanatic for a father."

That truly did take Glinda by surprise. She knew Elphaba and her father got along as well as cats and water did, but now several things made more sense… like why Elphaba had been so against religion and the whole aspect of forced proselytization. "Well, I have no doubt that you'll have half of Oz running from you, screaming, by the time you've finished college," Glinda said, starting to laugh at the image. The double meaning caught her halfway through the fit of giggles, and she choked. How could she be so stupid-?

"Are you all right?" Elphaba asked, moving off her own bed to make sure Glinda could breathe properly.

Glinda caught her breath and managed to calm her over reactive self down, chastising herself. "You know," she murmured, more to herself than anything, "I do believe I am."


	4. Goodness Knows

**A/N:** Eek, I love you guys :3

This chapter brings in more bookverse influences... I'll probably end up making it booksical, but who knows. The pairings poll is closed! Fiyeraba's going to be a minor part of the story, but it'll mainly focus on friendship. Gloq or Bessa is a possibility later on, but I'm not sure yet!

(Uhm, there's a few of you who reviewed on my little author's note xD. If you REALLY WANT to review this chapter (which I have no problem with ;)) but FFN gives you the error thing, try doing an anonymous review.)

Thanks for putting up with my tardiness, and thanks to Jelly once again for the betaing help on this one.

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**Goodness Knows**

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"_This distortion… this- this repulsion! This Wicked Witch!"_

"_Now you're getting what you wanted."_

"_I can't do this anymore."_

"_You're right. It's time. I surrender."_

"_He decreed you'd hence be known as Glinda the Good- officially!"_

"_Galinda?"_

"_It was an accident! I didn't mean to kill anybody!"  
_

"_No, he's the one. It's me that's not right."_

"_All this time? Behind my back?"_

"_Put him up on one of those poles until he tells us where the Witch went!"_

"_Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true."_

"_Galinda…"_

"_Look at me… I'm limited."_

"_You will, dearie. You'll remember me."_

"_Let the joyous news be spread: the Wicked old Witch at last is dead!"_

"_You know who could- and who has!"_

"_No one mourns the wicked!"_

"Galinda!"

With a start, Glinda wrenched her eyes open. She was completely taken aback to find she was lying in her bed at Shiz and not in some distant palace. Elphaba was standing over her, looking apprehensive and alarmed at the tears pouring down her roommate's face.

"Are you all right?" Elphaba asked, panic apparent in her tone as Glinda turned away from her to wipe her eyes.

"I'm fine," Glinda murmured. "Just a silly nightmare."

Elphaba's frown deepened. "I gathered that much. You were yelling in your sleep."

Fear coursed through Glinda as the implications of that sentence dawned on her. "What was I saying?" she asked, a nervous waver penetrating her voice despite her best efforts to remain calm.

Elphaba, having obviously determined that Glinda was fine, turned back to her own bed and started making it. "Not much," she replied absent-mindedly. "You just said a few things that sounded odd, and then you started sobbing, so…"

"What did I say?" Glinda asked again.

Elphaba's eyes met hers for several moments before the taller girl looked away once more. "You said a few names and such. 'The Wizard', 'Morrible', 'Boq', 'Fiyero'…"

The way Elphaba drifted off uncomfortably confirmed what Glinda thought. "I said your name, too, didn't I?"

"Well, yes," she admitted. There was a long, terse pause before she spoke again. "What were you dreaming about?"

Coming up with excuses quickly was not Glinda's strong point. "Er…" she stammered, trying quickly to fabricate a somewhat believable story that would include Elphaba, Boq, Morrible, and the Wizard- Elphaba did not know Fiyero. Yet. She would cross that bridge when she came to it. "I dreamed the school was on fire, and the Wizard came to help put it out." Oh, Lurline. That had to be the most ridiculous reason she had ever come up with.

Clearly, Elphaba agreed, for she looked extremely sceptical- and also as though she was trying to restrain herself from mocking her roommate. "I see."

"I'm sorry if I frightened you, Elphaba," Glinda said at last. "It was not my intent."

Elphaba laughed in response, most of the strain receding. "Your intent? You were asleep, Galinda. I wouldn't hold you responsible for something you dreamed."

"I'm still sorry," Glinda said with a laugh, thanking whatever deity was listening that things had gone over relatively smoothly. She slunk to her dresser and finally began to unpack what was left in her suitcase before applying a bit of makeup. She was completely unsurprised to see Elphaba, having finished doing her daily morning rituals, curl back up on top of her bedspread, novel in hand.

"So what elective are you taking, Galinda?" Elphaba asked as she settled herself down into a comfortable position. "You never did tell me last night."

It took a moment for Glinda to remember, herself. It was a good thing Elphaba asked her- it would have been a bit suspicious if she did not remember which class she had signed up for only a week beforehand, as it were. "Um… Cosmetology," she replied, admitting to herself that she was- if only a bit- interested in taking the class that she had never gotten a chance to, before.

Elphaba looked up from her book, an amused smile playing on her lips. "I should have known."

Glinda burst into yet another fit of giggles and had to wait for them to subside before continuing to paint her eyelids. "Is that an insult, Elphaba?"

"From your perspective? No, it shouldn't be, considering you signed up for it, yourself," Elphaba conceded with a laugh.

"But from you?"

"From me? …Yeah, I'd take it as an insult."

The two started laughing again before things settled down to normalcy once more. There were many mornings that Glinda could remember similar to this: the two of them up before classes, laughing about silly things, herself putting on makeup, Elphaba reading or studying.

In this moment? There was not a single place in the world she would rather be.

* * *

That morning would bring about many 'firsts'. It was be Glinda's first Cosmetology session and, in practice, the first non-sorcery class she had experienced in quite some time. It also would be, she found out from Elphaba, the first time she would officially "meet" Nessarose.

It would also be the beginning of the last week she had to plan before one certain 'scandalacious' prince made his entrance on campus. She still had no idea how she was going about her daily routine now, without Fiyero; when he arrived, she was certain it would only make things more complicated. She was completely unsure as to how she would go about changing things- though about that much, she was certain. She _would_ change how certain things panned out, even this early on. It was a ripple effect: one small change would affect the "future." But in what ways?

Ugh, this much theoretical and analytical thinking hurt her head. It would be nice to just be Galinda again. Unfortunately, she was not willing to gamble everything on her immaturity. She would just have to suck it up, grin, and bear it.

It wasn't as though that was a foreign concept to her.

Whatever. Cosmetology sure did not require any strenuous thinking- at least not of the magnitude she had been dealing with lately. Nonetheless, she was not about to undermine the necessary assessments that makeup dealt with. If she tuned her brain out completely… well, the results would be disastrous.

This was the kind of thinking that was her forte, though.

She strolled down the main hallway past the canteen after breakfast, bid her goodbye to Elphaba, and started towards the stairs for Cosmetology. A mere three flights of stairs had her gasping for breath and- discreetly, of course- checking to see if her antiperspirant was still working. Gosh, she was out of shape.

And late, judging on the lack of students lounging in the hallways. There were only a few stragglers left, and most of them were sprinting. Groaning to herself, Glinda adjusted the strap on her knapsack and jogged the last few hallways, finding the door for the classroom at the end of them.

"Sorry," she wheezed to the professor, a frail-looking old woman, before taking the only empty seat- coincidentally, the seat between Boq and Nessarose.

"Miss Galinda!" Boq beamed. "I didn't know you were taking Cosmetology, too."

Glinda ducked her head under the pretence of finding her book to hide a smile. "Mhmm," she murmured absent-mindedly. When she resurfaced, she gave an exaggerated breath, tossed her hair back, and opened her notebook to a fresh page. Upon doing so, she saw Nessarose looking at her. "Hello," Glinda said warmly, trying not to get off on the wrong foot with her this time.

"Hi," Nessarose replied. "So you're the Miss Galinda I've been hearing about?"

Invisibly, Glinda cringed. "Hearing about?" she repeated.

Nessarose nodded, her gaze still fixed on Glinda as though she were an interesting piece of abstract art. "Everyone has been talking about how you volunteered to share a room with my sister."

_Oh_. "Oh, that," Glinda said with a laugh, feeling free to break the stare. "Well, people need to find something better to gossip about."

"Why did you do it?" Nessarose asked, cocking her head to the side a bit. It was odd: even in her nice clothes, wheelchair, and sparkling shoes, a small, casual gesture could make her look like an overdressed Chihuahua.

Glinda giggled a bit again, trying to oppress the mental image. "Elphaba asked me the same thing. I just did it because I would want anyone to do the same for me, I guess. I mean, it's not fair to her that people ost- ostr- ah, forget it. You know what I mean, right?"

Nessarose looked as though she were trying not to laugh. "Yes, I do. I'm sure she appreciates it, even if she doesn't let on to it." She sighed here, pursing her lips. "Elphaba doesn't show appreciation towards much of anything."

Okay, that was another thing that Glinda was going to have to fix. Nessarose- at least from what she had seen- did not seem to appreciate all her sister did for her, which was rather unfair to Elphaba. "Well, she did thank me," Glinda said, trying to seem nonchalant.

Nessarose was obviously surprised. "She did?"

"Yes, the first night here."

"Oh," was all the younger sister could manage to say for several moments. "Well, I'm glad."

The professor moved to the board and started writing down the types of colour palettes, instructing them to take notes. Glinda turned away from Nessarose for a minute before remembering she forgot to ask something. "Oh, before I forget- you are Miss Nessarose, right?"

"Oh, how rude of me," Nessarose said. "I'm sorry, I misplaced my manners. Yes, I'm Nessarose, but you can call me Nessa, everyone does. And please, you don't have to bother with the honorific."

Glinda smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Nessa."

For the first time that Glinda could remember, thinking about makeup did not just entail thinking about makeup. As the professor wrote the different types of colour palettes, she found herself relating it to- the horror- other, more important things. For instance, people could be arranged similar to colours. If you had a bunch of people who were very alike, it became dull and uneventful, differing only by a little- monochromatic. Inserting a little variation to become, say, a triad or a tetrad, would give the group more flavour and make life, on a whole, more interesting.

Funny, how differently she looked at things now.

She was so caught up in this revelation (really, who would ever think to relate cosmetology to anthropology?) that she did not register Boq tapping her on the shoulder for several seconds until he cleared his throat.

She jumped, startled, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. "Sorry," she whispered, "I was a little distracted."

Boq blushed as well, and she had the sudden impulse to throttle him by the neck and scream, 'I'm a girl, not a goddess, so stop worshipping me!' She had a feeling that would not go along too well, though, so she resisted, instead just smiling as he phrased his concerns.

"Miss Galinda, what's your next class?" he finally managed to say.

She felt like laughing. That was all? "Life Sciences," she said.

He beamed, looking up as he continued to take notes. "Mine as well." His grin faded a few moments later and he rubbed the back of his neck with his empty hand. "Would you mind if I walked with you?" he asked, the nervous twitter lessened from the previous times he had addressed her.

"No, I wouldn't mind at all," Glinda said before returning to her notes. As her head turned away from Boq, she caught sight of the spokes of Nessarose's wheelchair. "Nessarose?" she asked before she had time to think her thought through. Perhaps it was guilt at leaving the disabled girl out, once again, or perhaps it was merely an attempt to get to know her better. The small, obsessive portion of her mind that still acted as Galinda, though, told her it was to make sure Boq did not get the wrong impression.

Whatever the case was, Nessarose turned towards Glinda expectantly.

"What's your next class?" Glinda asked as sweetly as she could, hoping to dispel any remaining discomfort the girl may have been feeling.

"Life Sciences with Doctor Nikidik," Nessarose replied.

Glinda was about to open her mouth to invite Nessarose to walk with her and Boq but was cut off.

"That's ours, as well. Would you care to walk with us?"

Glinda turned towards the Munchkin in surprise. She had not expected _that_. Well, it was not as though she thought Boq was cruel; actually, it was just the opposite- at least in his Shiz days. He was kind to the point of irritation. What she had not expected was him to ask Nessarose to walk with them of his own accord- he had only done so before on Glinda's less than subtle suggestion.

Glinda blanched as she processed it. Fate had managed to rearrange this event once more. Despite her renewed acquaintance with Boq and Nessarose, despite the bright sun shining through the windows, even despite her exaltation at understanding and further utilising her Cosmetology techniques, Glinda was on edge.

What in the world was she to do?

The rest of Cosmetology flew by as Glinda doodled on the edge of her paper absent-mindedly, trying to keep herself calm. It worked, for the most part, until Boq startled her at the end of class as he came up behind her and softly asked, "You ready for Life Sciences?"

She jumped a considerable amount into the air before grinning sheepishly. "Sorry," she said. "You startled me. Let me just get my effects," she said, gathering her things. She could see Nessarose wheel up out of the corner of her eye and hastened her pace, not wishing to make either of the two late.

Once they had set out of the classroom, Boq initiated conversation. "So, Miss Galinda, do you have any idea what you'd like to do after Shiz?"

She shook her head numbly. "Not really." Anything but politics. "And please, call me Galinda."

He ducked his head briefly but nodded all the same. "Alright, M- Galinda. What interests you?"

"Well, I always have found architecture fascinating," she confessed. "But I can't really see me making a living off of anything regarding that."

"You never know," he remarked. "After all, things are changing every day."

That they are, she thought sardonically. "And what about you, Boq? Any plans after college?"

He shook his head slowly. "Not really. I am planning to head back home, to Munchkinland. My parents are getting old, and my brother is nearing his tweens and getting ready for college himself; they need someone to help them with the farm."

She stumbled in her steps, taken by surprise. "Let me get this straight: you're getting an education to go back to the farm?"

His head, which was firmly fixed forward, nodded; he looked a bit embarrassed. "I couldn't abandon them like that."

"How many siblings do you have?" Glinda asked, genuinely curious.

"Three; two sisters, both older than me, and a younger brother."

The three of them were silent for a long moment before Glinda spoke up again. "You're a good man, Boq," she whispered, feeling even worse about how his doppelganger's fate had turned out.

He blushed crimson. "What about you, Miss Nessarose?" he blurted, obviously looking for a change in the subject.

She gave him a wistful half-smile in return. "My plans are the same as they've ever been. I'm to be the Governor once my father passes on."

"Oh, that's right. I'd forgotten," Boq replied in a stammer. "Is that what you want to do, though?"

Nessarose frowned. "I'm not sure, to be quite honest. It sounds silly, really, to not be sure as to what you want, but it's all I've ever known." She sighed longingly then. "I suppose if I had the chance, I would want to do something different."

"Like what?" Glinda asked. She had never heard Nessarose speak this way… perhaps it was her fault.

Nessarose shrugged daintily. "Perhaps something to do with the arts? I've always loved to sketch."

"There's not a chance your father would let Miss Elphaba take the position instead?" Boq asked, frowning slightly.

Nessarose laughed. "I doubt it, even though Elphaba would be much better at it. She always did have a knack for politics and speaking."

"I don't know if that'd be good for her, though," Glinda interrupted, drawing the other two's gazes. "I mean," she added, "Elphaba likes to speak her mind, and that would get her in trouble as a diplomatic leader. Plus, all those restrictions, rules, and social niceties? I have a feeling she would hate it."

Nessarose furrowed her brows as she slowed her wheelchair down to look at Glinda analytically. "You're very astute," she remarked.

"How so?"

"Well," she said, picking up her pace once more, "you've only known my sister for a few days now, but you seem to have her personality down to a pinpoint."

Glinda pursed her lips as she held back a sigh. "She just reminds me of someone I used to know," she murmured in response- and it was not exactly a lie.

"I see," Nessarose commented.

They entered the Life Sciences lecture hall at that point, and Glinda, thankful for the distraction, headed towards Doctor Nikidik's desk straightaway. "Do we have a seat assignment chart?" she asked him sweetly, knowing fully well that they had- or, at least, they had had one before.

"Yes," the professor droned, raising his voice so a few more students could hear him. "Please refer to the chart on the blackboard for your seats."

Gratefully, Glinda found her seat was nowhere near Elphaba, Nessarose, or Boq. She loved seeing her friends again- it was the absolute best thing she could have wished for. But in a way, seeing them again, reminded just how horribly their futures had turned out and knowing it was up to her to change it all… it was also the absolute worst thing she could have wished for. She sank into her seat in the back of the room, trying to quell the sudden nervousness she felt.

Thankfully, she had at least this class where she was not in front of someone whose opinion mattered. If only for this class, she could act and speak without thinking of how her friends would view it.

Oh, Oz. This was going to be harder than she thought.


	5. A Good Liar

**A/N:** With 89 reviews, 38 alerts, 29 favourites, and more compliments than I ever imagined getting, you guys have certainly given me something to be thankful for :D. I am seriously indebted to all my readers, so here's an early update as a thank-you gift this Thanksgiving!

**A note to all the readers of WickedJelly:** Due to circumstances, Jelly has asked me to tell you all that she can no longer write or respond to PMs from FFN; the site has been blocked. She apologises, but wanted me to tell you that she will no longer be able to continue with Ozmopolitan Says or anything ;-;. Also due to that, some chapters of For Good will not be betaed (including this one). Thanks for being so understanding!

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**A Good Liar**

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"Pass the strawberry cake, please?"

It was later that night, and the four newly acquainted friends were eating dessert. Life Sciences had passed uneventfully, much to Glinda's gratitution. She was not exactly sure how much she could take. It was much more stressful now, constantly worrying about what to say and do, how to keep Morrible in the dark, and how her actions would affect their futures instead of just worrying about who was dating who, what the fashions were, and whether or not her mascara was _just so_.

"Galinda?"

Glinda looked up, startled out of her reverie. "Yes? Sorry, I dazed out for a moment."

Elphaba frowned. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Glinda said, forcing a small laugh. "I'm just tired is all. What did you say?"

"Nessa just asked if you could pass the cake," Elphaba explained, still frowning a little.

Glinda obeyed, apologising again. "Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight so I'll be more alert tomorrow," she offered.

Nessarose laughed, forking a small amount of cake onto her plate. "No harm done."

Glinda did not know why she was spacing out so, but something had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since they left Life Sciences. Nothing had given her any reason to be so, but for some inexplicable reason, she was worried. Something felt like it was going to happen.

She mentally shook herself, laughing. Something felt like it was going to happen? Since when did she get 'feelings'? That was Elphaba's thing, if anyone's. She could not determine whether things would go right or wrong simply on how the atmosphere felt.

Still, even with the few rearranged events, things had been going well- too well. Try as she might, Glinda could not shake the feeling that this was going too easily, and something bad was unavoidably going to happen.

Even as that thought flitted across her mind, two tables down, jeering laughing broke out. Immediately, she, Elphaba, Nessarose, and Boq, along with most of their table, craned their heads to see if they could divine as to what was going on.

It soon became clear, as a small group of students stood up, forming a semi-circle around another student, hiding him from sight.

"What's wrong, are you embarrassed?" one of the boys standing crowed.

Another laughed. "Nah, his face is like that all the time."

"Wow, that must be embarrassing," the first said. "Oh, wait, how would we know? He is always a little… _flushed_."

"Didn't you know? Pale's back in, Ruddie," the third said, snickering.

A few titters of laughter spread past the group, even reaching to the nearby tables. What was going on? And why were the faculty just looking on in slight curiosity? Well, as to why Morrible would was slightly obvious, but the others?

Elphaba, fed up with the catcalls, decided to take things into her own hands. She stood up, ignoring Nessarose's whisper ("Elphaba, no!"), and strode over to the schoolboys. "Are you really this self-satisfied that you have to boost your own egos by attacking other people?" she demanded furiously.

They took a few steps back, revealing their subject: a Quadling. He looked as though he were about Nessa's age, maybe a year or so older. He shot a grateful look towards Elphaba.

It did not go unnoticed. "Aw, look, Greenie's sticking up for Ruddie!" one of the boys- the one who seemed to be their ringleader- mocked.

"You think she has a crush on him?" another asked of him.

He laughed in response. "Wouldn't surprise me. It's not like she can find another of her colour and it's not as though anyone of a _normal_ colour would want her."

"Ugh," the third scoffed, laughing as well. "Can you imagine what their kids would look like? The poor bastards would look like deformed Lurlinemas decorations."

Elphaba clenched her fists, obviously trying to block out the droning laughter. "How dare you," she seethed. "What did he do to you?"

"It's more of the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean," the leader drawled. "Though I'm sure you're well aware of that fact by now, aren't you, Froggie?"

Glinda could feel the change in atmosphere several metres away. "Elphaba,_ no_!" she cried, running towards her friend. She arrived at Elphaba's side in time to stop her from completely losing her control, but still too late to prevent a few sparks from emitting.

The cafeteria was silent; all the students were staring at the duo in a mixture of horror, fascination, and anxiety. "Do _not_ lose your temper," Glinda hissed to Elphaba. The latter looked as though she were about to faint from exhaustion, frustration, or surprise- or a combination of the three.

"What?" Elphaba mumbled in response. "How did you-? What did I-?"

"Not here," Glinda begged. She could feel Morrible's eyes boring into the two of them. How could she be so stupid to let Elphaba walk over here on her own...?

"Miss Thropp, Miss Upland." Sure enough, Madame Morrible's voice rang out, cutting through the silence. "Please report to my office immediately."

Glinda released Elphaba's arm finally, taking the chance to bury her face in her hands.

Oh, this was bad.

* * *

As soon as the two girls left the cafeteria, Elphaba dragged Glinda to the side of the hallway, tugging on her arm hard enough to leave several angry red marks.

"Ow! Elphaba!" Glinda hissed, drawing back in pain.

Elphaba seemed to neither realise nor care that she was hurting her. "How did you know that that would happen if I lost my temper?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest self-consciously and putting her feet down firmly.

Glinda saw four options. She could tell the truth. However, she could see all too clearly how that would play out. 'Elphaba, I'm from the future. I came back to Shiz mysteriously and am now saving your scrawny little ass since you went and got yourself killed last time. Try not to mess it up, this time, okay? Oh, and don't trust Morrible- she may act like she can grant your heart's desires, but she'll send you straight to the Wizard- which, by the way, is not as wonderful as it sounds. He just happens to be evil and makes you the biggest scapegoat in the history of Oz. Oh, and by the way, this evil dictator turns out to be your father! Surprise!'

...Yeah, that would work brilliantly.

Or, she could tell her that she simply could not tell her. That would most likely infuriate Elphaba, though, knowing that Glinda had a secret that she could not- or would not- share.

She could just act dumb. That had worked in the past before. Gape, frown a little, and say, "What?" while looking as innocent as possible...? It could work, but she had a feeling that it would not work on Elphaba.

Her best bet was to lie.

So, she did.

"You remember this morning?" Glinda said tentatively, the wheels turning even as she spoke.

Elphaba frowned, uncrossing and re-crossing her arms. "Yes, what about it?"

"The nightmare," she elaborated. "Well, it wasn't a nightmare, exactly." More like a memory.

Elphaba's eyes shot up. "And what was it, then?" she inquired.

"I told you I had a nightmare that the school was burning down, and that was why I mentioned those names: Boq, Nessa, Morrible, the Wizard, Fiyero, and you."

"Yes," Elphaba murmured. "What does this have to do with that?"

Glinda heaved a long sigh, not even having to fake the distress she was feeling. If she played this right, her troubles with Elphaba would be gone for now. She could explain her recognition of Elphaba's talents and her foreknowledge of Fiyero's name in one fell swoop. "I get visions," she blurted out and internally winced at how stupid the explanation sounded, even to her own ears.

"Visions," Elphaba repeated, looking at Glinda as though she had sprouted an extra head. "As in psychic visions?"

_I may as well go with it_, she thought resignedly. "Yes, sort of. I can't see everything, but occasionally I'll get a flash kind of thing, and I'll see a brief scene of what could happen soon."

"So that's how you knew I was losing my temper?" Elphaba asked, still looking as doubtful as if someone had told her the sky were purple.

"Yes," Glinda said, nodding. "I saw a brief image of you losing your temper and magicking the boys, so I tried to stop you."

"Magic?" Elphaba repeated coolly. "You obviously saw wrong. I have no magickal talents."

Glinda laughed weakly. "What in Oz did you think that was, Elphaba? A bad case of static discharge? Your magnetic personality? It's magic. That's why Morrible is so interested in you."

"And who's this Fiyero, then?"

Glinda sighed, looking determinedly at her feet. "A new student from the Vinkus."

Elphaba's eyebrows, if possible, rose even further. "The Vinkus? I didn't know we had a Vinkun student."

"We don't," Glinda explained.

The yet went unsaid.

Elphaba took a step back and leaned against the wall, rubbing at the bridge of her nose with closed eyes. "This is insane," she murmured, sounding seconds away from screaming.

Irony was a funny thing. Glinda wondered, if only for a fleeting second, how distressed Elphaba would be if she knew how insane the _real_ truth was.

"Elphaba," Glinda implored, nearly begging. "You must not tell Madame Morrible about this."

Elphaba opened her eyes again, fixing her gaze on Glinda in confusion. "Why?"

"Please, just trust me."

Instead of arguing, as Glinda had expected her to, Elphaba merely sighed, fixing a sharp, astute gaze on her friend. "Galinda, is this… urgent?"

Thanking Lurline that her friend understood the need for discretion, Glinda nodded. "Yes, and that's really all I can say."

"Alright," Elphaba murmured, running her hands over her face. "What should I say to Morrible?"

It was a little disconcerting, Elphaba asking _Glinda_ what to do. Elphaba had always been the intelligent one, the one with a plan, and now, with just a few words, she was relying on Glinda to figure out something to do. "I would just try and play it down as much as possible, if you can," Glinda said absent-mindedly, her mind working a lot slower than she would have preferred.

Elphaba sent her a sharp look. "Why do you not want Madame Morrible to know, even about me?"

"I have my reasons," Glinda said weakly. "I promise, I'll explain them to you as soon as I can."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because," Glinda said with a sigh, fixing her gaze on her ballet flats, "I'm not sure if I can tell you yet… if that would be wise, all things considered."

Elphaba quickly covered up a hurt look. "You can trust me," she said, her voice flat.

"Oh, believe me, I know. I would trust you with nearly everything, Elphaba," Glinda assured her. "But I'm not sure if you can trust me yet. I'm not sure whether you would believe me, is all, or whether you would trust my decision-making skills."

Elphaba nodded slowly and resumed walking towards Morrible's office.

They reached the double doors far quicker than Glinda had hoped. Obviously, they could not take too much longer, but walking in there meant _walking in there_. She was not ready to face Morrible, to lie straight to her face and expect her not to notice anything. Taking a deep breath, Glinda fixed a nervous smile across her face before opening the doors.

Madame Morrible's head shot up as soon as they entered. "Have a seat, ladies," she said, gesturing towards the two plush chairs in front of her desk.

The girls sat down gingerly, and Glinda noticed Elphaba was shooting her a concerned look out of the corner of her eye.

Morrible noticed it, too. "Oh, I won't bite, dearies, I promise. Biscuit?" She offered a tin of biscuits to the two; both of them politely declined. There was no way in Oz Glinda would willingly eat something the woman offered her.

"Now," Morrible started, leaning back in her chair, "would either of you care to explain what happened in the dining hall just now?"

Elphaba cleared her throat. "I'm not quite sure, Madame," she said hesitantly. "I just got so angry, and everything felt weird, as though it were electrically charged. The next thing I knew, I was shooting sparks."

Morrible nodded. "And has something like this ever happened to you before, perhaps when you were angry, upset, or scared?"

Glinda felt like banging her head repeatedly on something- preferably something hard- when Elphaba shot her a sideways glance. Whatever happened to subtlety? Morrible was not the most astute person, but she was sitting right there. Glinda would not be willing to place that little confidence in the woman's observational skills.

"No, Madame," Elphaba lied. "This is the first time something like this has ever happened."

"I see," Morrible said. Glinda did not miss the brushing of scepticism underlying her words. "Well, it is extremely rare for accidental magic outbursts to occur, and even rarer that they should occur in someone not magickally skilled. Which elective are you taking now, Miss Thropp?"

"Political Sciences," Elphaba replied, not missing a beat.

"Well, I'm sure your professor would not mind your switching out of it, now would he?"

"She," Elphaba corrected, her irritation becoming more and more pronounced. "And no offence meant, Madame, but is there a reason you'd like me to switch out of Political Sciences? I enjoy that class far more than most of my other classes. I actually am good at that sort of thinking, and I do not particularly want to switch out."

Morrible pursed her lips. "My dear, it is quite obvious you have magickal talents. If you do not wish to end up harming someone one day, my best advice would be to enroll in my sorcery seminar. There you will learn how to control your magic, and how to harness it to make good."

"Yes, Madame," Elphaba managed, looking quite disappointed.

"Oh, don't despair, Miss Thropp; if you succeed in the seminar, you may even get a chance to be offered a job from the Wizard."

Damn her for exploiting Elphaba's weakness. Glinda could see her expression change; her friend's back straightened, her eyes started glittering, and her voice was filled with so much hope it made Glinda want to cry. "The Wizard?" Elphaba whispered.

"The very one," Morrible said with a smirk. "So shall I tell your professor you will be dropping the class?"

"I suppose," Elphaba said, though with far less exasperation than before.

"And Miss Upland?" Morrible said suddenly, turning on Glinda. "How did you know Miss Thropp was about to lose her temper? Can you sense that sort of magic, perhaps with talents of your own?"

"Oh, no, Madame," Glinda said meekly, seeing Elphaba barely repress the urge to turn and stare at her. "I could just see she was getting angry, and I didn't want her to do anything rash. I never imagined something like that would happen… Trust me; I don't have any sort of magickal talents."

Was it just her imagination, or did a flicker of annoyance flit over Morrible's face? Even if it was a passing shadow of frustration, it was gone as soon as Glinda blinked.

"Very well, dear," Morrible said, suspicion lacing her tone. "If you insist you don't have that sort of talent, you may stay in your current elective."

Glinda nodded, releasing a breath she did not know she had been holding.

"However," Morrible started again, catching her attention. "If you have another episode like that, you'll be enrolled with Miss Thropp- for your good and for the good of the school environment. Being able to sense magickal outbursts would be a useful tool, no matter the profession you're interested in."

"Yes, Madame," Glinda said, bowing her head. "And I'm sorry if we caused any trouble."

Morrible dismissed them then, and Glinda all but ran towards the door, anxious to leave. Elphaba, however, lingered. "Madame?" she asked.

Morrible looked up at her again. "Yes, Miss Thropp?"

After a deep inhalation, Elphaba spoke rather fast. "Perhaps you didn't see the reason as to why I lost my temper, but at dinner, a Quadling student was being bullied, and-"

"Yes, Miss Thropp, I saw," Morrible said, sounding bored. "It will be taken care of."

Hah, taken care of. It would be more likely to be ignored.

Elphaba released her breath, her expression becoming less clouded. "Thank you, Madame. And what about the bullies?"

"They will be taken care of," Morrible repeated, eyeing her in trepidation. "Now, if you please, Misses Thropp and Upland, I do have work I must attend to. You may return to your dormitories, now."

Not needing to be told a third time, Glinda practically drug Elphaba out of the room, only breathing easily once the door was firmly shut. "Oz," she moaned under her breath, collapsing against the wall. "What?" she asked, irritated, when she realised Elphaba was staring at her.

"Nothing," Elphaba said, looking away. "Actually, yes. What was that about- you not having magickal talents? What about your visions?"

Glinda pursed her lips. "I didn't want Morrible knowing, for the same reason I tried to stop you from losing control."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "And the same reason that you can't explain to me?"

"Yes," Glinda announced regrettably.

"Convenient," was all her friend would say, looking at the ceiling.

Glinda sighed. "Elphaba," she started, but trailed off when she realised she had nothing more to say. "I'm sorry, all right?"

"It's fine," Elphaba said. The way she turned on her heel and strode off, however, told Glinda she was far from fine.

This was going to be a long year.


	6. Good Acquaintances

**A/N:** Okay, this one is so short D:. 2300-something words, as opposed to the regular 3000 . I'm really sorry, but I wanted to get it out today since it's been two weeks. On that note, it's becoming harder and harder for me to write these chapters, so time between updates may be more like this instead of the nearly-weekly thing it started out as. Would you all prefer shorter updates (like 2000 or so words) more often, or longer less often?

**Another note to all readers of WickedJelly:** Jellz is now posting her stuff on another site, FanLib. She has another chapter of Ozmopolitan Says updated as well as an original fandom oneshot already, so if you want to continue reading anything she writes, be sure to check out that site. (It's really a great site; I'm liking it a lot.)

Thanks for your patience, kind words, alerts, favourites, and reviews! We broke 100 reviews, 25 favourites, and 45 alerts last chapter!

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**Good Acquaintances**

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Elphaba Thropp was not stupid.

It was actually one of the few traits she had that she took pride in, her intelligence. She was able to look at a situation rationally, completely detached and calm. She also could, should the situation call for it, put her all into it, becoming so passionate in her arguments that even people who hated her would see her viewpoint.

She could see weaknesses, flaws in arguments. She could tell when someone was about to back down. She knew when someone was hiding something.

And Galinda Upland was definitely hiding something. The admission the girl had made two days earlier had only confirmed Elphaba's musings. Galinda simply knew a lot that she should not- _could not_- know.

Like… well, like her name. Before she had even introduced herself, Galinda seemed to intuitively know Elphaba's name- and when Elphaba mentioned it, the girl got flustered. If she had simply overheard, as she had claimed, why would she stammer for an explanation? Elphaba sincerely doubted she even _had_ overheard her and Nessa talking- even if she had called Nessarose by name during that conversation (and she doubted that she had), how in Oz could Galinda have overheard? She had been standing on the complete opposite side of the room- and Elphaba knew for a fact that she had not been talking that loudly.

And then there were those nightmares. Galinda had been having them nearly every night. "Visions" or not, that was a little out of the norm, especially for a girl who was, in all rights, an adult. And nightmares of a fire? Elphaba could see why Galinda would lie about a nightmare, if she did not wish to share that she had visions, but why bother lying if she was going to turn around later that day and tell her roommate the truth? Perhaps it was a vision, but Galinda had been truly distressed, tossing and turning, moaning and sobbing loud enough to rouse Elphaba from sleep.

She was not even about to get started on how suspicious these visions were. Convenient, that said confession allowed Galinda to explain all her odd behaviours, from knowing Elphaba's name to the odd nightmares to the foreknowledge of Elphaba's temper.

And the last, most intriguing thing was Galinda's confession. "I would trust you with nearly everything, Elphaba"? Everything about that statement screamed 'too trusting,' and, from Elphaba's observations, Galinda was very fastidious about whom she placed her trust in; her lack of faith in Madame Morrible was the perfect example of such.

Morrible. That was another matter in itself. Galinda was begging- begging- Elphaba not to say anything to Morrible, to conceal her talents as much as possible. _Why_? Why in Oz was her roommate so frantic, so panicky even this morning before Elphaba's first sorcery seminar?

Something was up with Galinda Upland, and Elphaba was determined to find out what.

* * *

Oh, Glinda was stupid.

What in the name of Lurline's sacred piss had she been thinking? … Actually, there was the answer. She _was not_ thinking. She had not thought at all before opening her mouth that morning to remind Elphaba- once again- to be careful around Morrible. Her friend had just given her another sharp glance before saying, "Whatever you say, Galinda."

As if she needed another reason to be suspicious.

This was not working well.

"Are you alright, Galinda?"

Glinda turned to see Boq glancing at her worriedly. He was accompanying her to her literature seminar, one of the many classes the two shared. She forced a weak smile. "I'm fine, Boq, just a bit crazed at the moment."

"I'm sorry," he replied. "What classes are bogging you down?"

She laughed, then. "It's not a class, per se. I'm actually doing all right in most of my classes."

"Do you miss your family, then?" he asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Not really," Glinda admitted. "To tell the truth, I haven't really given them much thought, as horrible as that sounds. I was never really close to my parents, and I have no siblings."

"I'm sorry," Boq said again, his half-smile looking strained. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Glinda smiled genuinely. "Not really, but I appreciate it, Boq." She was furthermore pleased when he simply nodded, not even a trace of a flush in his cheeks.

At least something was going right.

"So what have you been up to the past few days?" she asked him as they rounded the corner into the language department. "I have been rather busy, and I have not really gotten the chance to speak with you much."

He blushed then, much to Glinda's surprise. "Nothing really," he murmured, looking down at his feet.

Oh, now this was intriguing. "Oh?" she asked, trying to suppress the giggle that was fighting its way to the surface. "Why are you blushing, then?"

"I'm not blushing!" he retorted immediately, his gaze snapping ahead once more.

The giggle slipped past her lips, and for a moment Glinda felt free again with no more worries than what was making Boq embarrassed. "You are!" she insisted. "What is it? You can tell me, Boq; I swear I won't laugh."

A shiver went down her spine as he snapped his head towards her, the look of irritation oddly similar to the last time she had seen the Tin Man. "You'd better not," he said simply. "If you make fun of her, I'll be in trouble."

"Her?" Glinda said, voicing her surprised thought. "Who?"

Boq shuffled his feet and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before mumbling incoherently.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"Nessarose," Boq repeated, red as a tomato.

Glinda barely suppressed a wide grin before deciding instead to tease the hopeless young man. "What about Nessarose?"

He glared at her, shaking his head slightly. Okay, so perhaps she wasn't as subtle as she'd hoped. "We went out to lunch yesterday."

"Like a lunch date?"

"Minus the date part, yes."

"Then why were you blushing?" When Boq's blush only continued to grow, she decided to pity him. "All right, all right," she conceded, giggling. "I'm glad, though, honestly."

Boq snorted, the sudden derisive tone shadowing the mood. "So I won't be pining after you anymore, right?"

Whatever response Glinda had been expecting, that was certainly far from it. She gaped for several seconds, her pace slowing. When Boq continued to walk past her, unfazed, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "No, wait," she said, still confused. "What was that about?"

He sighed, shifting his bag from one hand to the other and rubbing his forehead with the empty arm. "Look, I'm just a little confused about you lately. A week or so ago, you acted as if I were the most embarrassing creature ever to talk to you. And recently you have been acting as if you want to be friends- which would be nice, I suppose. I guess I'm just confused as to what your real intentions are."

"Boq," Glinda breathed, suddenly feeling ashamed of herself, "I swear I'm not poking fun at you. I am not trying to hurt you. I apologise if I was that way to you in the past, but I'm really trying to be as honest as I can be." She looked down at her feet before continuing in a softer voice. "I would really like to be friends with you."

He sighed, drawing her gaze up to his face once more. "I'd like that too," he said finally, moving to start walking again.

Taking it as a sign to change the subject, Glinda hurried to meet his pace. "So, do you like her?" she asked, careful not to make her tone too eager or pressing.

"I do," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's nice."

"Well, I hope the best for you," Glinda murmured, hoping against hope that things turned out better for the misfortunate pair than their doppelgangers' fates had.

A small, wistful smile tinged his face. "So do I."

* * *

As Fate tended to do, it had its own way with things, messing up Glinda's plans yet again. It was only Thursday when, Glinda in the courtyard with a book, studying with Nessarose, heard an obnoxious beeping coming from the other end. As most of the others did, she turned to see the cause, and nearly groaned aloud.

The buggy crashing down the lane was carrying none other than Fiyero Tiggular.

Damn, it was four days earlier than she had planned… and now she had no time to figure out what in Oz she was going to do.

Apparently, she had accidentally said something, or her expression must have given her away, for Nessarose frowned at her. "Are you alright, Galinda?"

"Fine," she managed, suppressing another groan as Fiyero woke up, scrambled out of the buggy to the stares of everyone in the courtyard.

"Um, can someone tell me the way to the history building?" he said, grinning sheepishly.

Nearly all the females in the vicinity immediately clambered over one another, fighting to come to his aid first.

"Woah, ladies," Fiyero said, the grin only broadening.

Glinda stared, half amused, half annoyed. And to think, she had once been one of those ecstatic girls. She probably could be that way still, but not for Fiyero; it would feel awkward beyond belief if she pursued him this time.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the same perspective as her. His gaze swept over the mini-crowd that had formed in front of him and back towards where Glinda and Nessa were sitting. And… _oh, no_, Glinda thought, wishing she could disappear.

His grin only grew cockier as he caught sight of her. "So." He pushed through the girls and stopped in front of her. "What's all this, then?" he said, gesturing to the various books scattered around her and Nessarose.

"Books," Glinda replied blandly. "Surely you've seen them before."

Fiyero laughed. "Ouch, did I do something to earn your scorn?"

The small crowd started filtering away disappointedly, many whispering about how 'Galinda always gets the guy.'

"It's not scorn, Master Fiyero," Glinda said. "Only polite disinterest."

His eyebrows shot up. "If you know my name, I'm taking it that's not disinterest."

She rolled her eyes. "Forgive me, Master Fiyero. If one attends a college with many girls, one does pick up on gossip trends."

"And would one be interested in dancing?" he replied, grinning still.

"It would depend on whom one went with," she said weakly.

Fiyero ran a hand through his hair with obvious experience. "Would one care to go dancing with me?"

_Oz, Elphaba had done wonders to his manners_, Glinda thought. _How long- and through what- would it take to make him gain a little humility this time?_ "Sorry, Master Fiyero, perhaps another time. I'm far too muddled in my schoolwork, now."

He blinked once, twice, and then hastened to fix the grin that had momentarily faded from his face. "Fair enough. Perhaps another time, then?"

Glinda nodded. "Perhaps."

Fiyero turned to go, but paused a few metres away. "What's your name?" he asked suddenly, turning back towards the girls.

"Galinda," Glinda said.

He nodded thoughtfully and resumed walking.

Oh, Lurline. _He's still staring at me_, she thought, her heart sinking.

"Galinda! I know you've had lapses of mental functioning lately, but did you_ really just turn down Fiyero Tiggular?!_"

And there was Shenshen.

"Fiyero Tiggular," she repeated. "Fi_yero_ _Tig_gular. Hellooo, scandalacious _prince_ of the West?!"

Glinda cringed. "Yes, I know who he is, thank you."

She, as well as Pfannee, who was standing behind her, stared in a mixture of agony, awe, and defeat.

"What_ has_ the green girl done to you?" Pfannee whispered.

At that, Glinda, as well as Nessarose, burst out laughing. "She's made me able to think. What a novel concept, hmm, ladies?"

Shenshen clenched her jaw. "I liked you better when you didn't _think_." She spat the word out as if it were a particularly vile curse word.

"Aww, thank you," Glinda said, still laughing. "Now I know you don't just like me for my newly-acquired smarts. What is it, then- my popularity or my devilishly good looks?"

As if the two were halves of a machine, they scoffed in unison. "Puhlease," Pfannee said. "What little popularity you had went down the sink as soon as you decided that green girl was in need of a friend like you."

Glinda blinked owlishly. "Is that a compliment or an insult?" she pondered, not really sure of the answer.

Shenshen scoffed again. "I see those little brains you claim to have aren't helping you much."

"Yeah, so why don't you come to your senses and rejoin us, people who really matter?" Pfannee whined, shooting a dirty look at Nessarose.

Glinda shook her head incredulously. "You're going in circles. First you insult me, then you tell me I'm un-popular, then you insult me again, and then you beg me to come back- while insulting my friends, for that matter?"

Pfannee mumbled, looking at her nails with a could-care-less air. "Perhaps it was circular to you, but to me it was very … un-circular."

Nessarose, who had been awkwardly shying away from the whole conversation, burst into a fit of giggles, drawing the three others' attention.

Glinda grinned. "I think I like my senses where they are now, thanks."

Shenshen tossed her hair. "Fine," she said. "But don't come running to us, begging us to take you back once you realise the horrendible mistake you're making."

"I'll try not to," Glinda promised.

"And you're not devilishly good-looking!" Pfannee added before they both turned on their stiletto heels and marched off.

Nessarose, still laughing, turned to Glinda. "Were they always like that?" she managed between giggles.

"Always," Glinda confirmed, giggling, herself.

Nessa shook her head bemusedly. "Lucky for you that you got out of that… situation."

"Yeah," Glinda agreed. "I'm very lucky."


	7. Looking Good

**A/N:** Aren't you proud :D? This must be a record for me, two days since the last update and already an update. This one's actually 3000 words, as I'll try to make all of them. The few of you who told me what you preferred (short updates more often or longer less often) seem split, so if you could continue to let me know, that'd be great :)

Thanks for your continued support!

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.  
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**Looking Good**

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By the time Glinda re-entered the dorm, it was far later in the afternoon, and Elphaba was there, waiting for her.

"Good afternoon, Elphaba," Glinda said with a sigh, deciding it would be easier to face whatever was on the girl's mind sooner rather than later.

"Good afternoon, Galinda," her roommate said in response, quickly jotting down another few words in the notebook on her lap before closing it and setting it aside. "I heard we have a new student," she continued with a pointed look.

Putting her own books away, Glinda pursed her lips as she sprawled across her bed. "Yes," she said, "we do."

Elphaba frowned. "And his name is really Fiyero?"

When Glinda's nod confirmed her thought, she sighed. "I didn't believe you, you know."

Glinda's frown only deepened. "Believe me about what?"

"The visions," Elphaba explained. "I thought the explanation was too farfetched, too… well, convenient, to be honest. Nevertheless, I really cannot see another way as to how you would know his name before he even arrived."

Glinda grimaced. She _hated_ lying to Elphaba. "Yes, well…" was her only offer.

"I still don't understand why you refuse to share your talents with Madame Morrible, though," Elphaba stated. "These visions could be helpful, if you learned how to harness them, and Madame Morrible could help-"

Glinda sat up and firmly stated, "No."

When Elphaba only exhaled in frustration, she abandoned all pretence. "Do you think I like these visions?" she asked. "Do you think I like knowing what could happen to me, to my friends? Do you think I like seeing horrible things happen, knowing that it is up to me to prevent them from happening?"

Elphaba did not say a thing; she only stared at her, slack-jawed.

"It's not as though I'm keeping this from Morrible out of spite," she continued, letting out all her pent-up frustration on her friend, whether it be fair or not. "I'm not trying to play the martyr here. I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm not trying to steal your glory or whatever it is." She paused, the silence calming her down slightly. "I hate it, okay? And I don't want Morrible to exploit this for her own benefit."

"Galinda, I didn't mean-" Elphaba started, but Glinda cut her off.

"I know," she said, putting up her hands in an effort to convey that she was not mad.

Elphaba sighed. "I won't push it anymore, I swear."

* * *

After dinner that night, Glinda decided to take a walk, mostly to have some time to herself. Autumn was skirting away, the taste of winter was in the air, and the days were getting shorter and darker, a poignant alignment to what was happening in Glinda's life. As soon as she stepped outside, she breathed in the chilly air with pure delight at the simplicity of twilight. Wrapping her sweater around her a little tighter, she walked past the courtyard to the edge of the forest, grateful for the lack of students around.

If just for this one moment, she wanted just to relax, without having to worry about the impending sensation of doom, without having to think before she spoke, without having to lie to anyone- including herself. From this distance, everything about Shiz seemed surreal: the twinkling lights of the cafeteria and dorms; the statue in the courtyard, veiled in shadow, eerily alone without the usual crowd of students loitering there; the ground before the forest, the shadow making it impossible to discern where the tree line began.

The silence was intoxicating.

Of course, Fate would ruin even this one moment.

"Galinda!" A familiar voice cut through the gentle sounds of wind and crickets.

Glinda sighed.

"Galinda!" Fiyero called again, his pace slowing as he ran up to her, his chest heaving with obvious difficulty.

She smiled weakly. "Hello, Master Fiyero."

He did not respond for a few moments as he struggled to catch his breath. Once he finally did, he said, "Fiyero, please. …What are you doing out here alone after dark?"

Glinda smiled half-heartedly. "I could ask you the same thing."

Fiyero frowned. "Yes, but you're a girl."

She knew what he meant by that statement, but could not help scoffing indignantly. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself, even on campus."

He grimaced. "Sorry, that came out wrong."

"Yes it did," she said amusedly. There was a few seconds' pause before he continued with, "Look, Galinda, I'm sorry if I offended you earlier for any reason, but I was serious. Dancing, sometime?"

She sighed. "Fiyero, I'm sure you're a nice guy, and I don't have anything against you, personally. I'm just not in the right mindset for dating right now; there are much more important things going on, for me."

He seemed dumbfounded. "There are not many girls in college who think there are more important things than guys."

"To be frank, most girls at college are pathetically empty-headed."

He grinned. "Way to boost a man's ego."

Glinda laughed. "That's not what I meant."

"I know," he said with a nod. "Do you know the best place nearby for parties?" he asked abruptly.

"Probably the Ozdust Ballroom," Glinda replied, a slight frown darkening her face. "Why?"

"Well, I'm probably going to throw a party sooner or later- more likely sooner- and figured I'd ask," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Say I were to throw this party- would you be interested in coming?"

Glinda bit her lip. "If you're asking me to go with you, I'll have to politely decline, though I would come otherwise."

He laughed. "All right, I swear I'll drop it. Who would you go with, though?"

"Most likely the few friends I've made here: my roommate, her sister, and my other friend, Boq."

"You're friends with Boq?" Fiyero asked, a slight air of incredulity to his tone. "The short Munchkin kid?"

Glinda rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, the short Munchkin kid. He really is a nice guy."

He looked at her sceptically, as though trying to determine how a girl like her would associate herself with a Munchkin, but not himself. "Well, I'll look forward to meeting them," he said, finally.

At this, Glinda smiled genuinely- a rarity, these days. "When are you holding this party, then?"

He paused for a moment, thinking, before replying, "Tomorrow night, I guess."

"I'll try and come."

"I'll see you then," he said, grinning. "Would you like me to escort you back inside?"

"No, thank you; I think I'll stay out here a little longer," Glinda replied, glancing up at the star-dusted sky briefly.

"It's cold," Fiyero said, frowning. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Alright," he acquiesced. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Goodnight, Fiyero."

"Goodnight, Galinda," he said in response before heading out of sight once more.

Finally, solitude.

* * *

"Absolutely not."

All right, so convincing Elphaba to go to the party that night was going to be even more difficult than Glinda had predicted. "Elphie," she whined, "come on, it'll be fun." It was the next afternoon, and Glinda had already asked Nessarose and Boq to come; they had agreed with little persuasion, leaving the hardest to convince for last.

"Using that damned nickname isn't going to help you!" her roommate retorted. "And no, it won't be fun. What in Oz could be fun about loud music, tasteless food and punch, guys trying to feel all the girls up, and most of the girls there not minding?"

Glinda scoffed. "Please, not all parties are like that." She was not going to mention that the only parties she had attended that had not been like that to some degree were her parents' dinner parties. "And come on, it is fun! Dressing up, feeling pretty, chatting with friends without worrying about classes, listening to music, and staying up late meeting new people?"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Galinda, this is me. I don't dress up, I'm never pretty, I always worry about classes, I despise that kind of music, and I don't have friends to chat with."

"Ouch," Glinda said pointedly.

"Sorry," Elphaba muttered, a faint blush crossing her cheeks. "I meant I don't have as many friends as most people… though I suppose I should be grateful. You're really the first friend I've had." Her voice dropped to a low murmur towards the end, expressing her discomfort by the truth of that statement.

The tense, quiet moment passed when Glinda broke it with, "Well, then you have nothing to lose! Come on, you can borrow one of my dresses and I'll do your makeup. You never know; you could meet someone new there."

Elphaba's scepticism only increased. "Galinda, if you think I'm wearing one of your insanely poofy outfits _and_ letting you dress me up like a doll, you're even crazier than I thought."

Glinda firmly planted her hands on her hips. "Oh, stop being so stubborn! I do have some non-poofy dresses that you can borrow, and I swear I won't go overboard with the makeup." When Elphaba did not seem as though she were budging at all, Glinda zoomed over to her. "Pleaseee?" she begged. "I'll do anything."

Elphaba clutched her hair in frustration. "Galinda!"

Glinda stopped her pleading to pout stubbornly. "You know you want to come, at least a little bit."

Elphaba laughed in amazement. "Lurline, you're insufferable!"

"It's my specialty," Glinda said with a grin.

She could see Elphaba give in even before she opened her mouth. "Look, if I go, will you swear to stop this incessant nagging?"

Glinda squealed. "Oh, this is going to be fun!"

Elphaba looked, if possible, even greener.

"Okay, so first, let's pick out the dress, that way I can find matching colours for it," Glinda said excitedly, dragging her friend over to her stuffed armoire. "All right. We should probably stay away from brighter colours, and make sure it's not too pastel," she started blathering, taking out various dresses and holding them up against her friend's arms before frowning and stuffing them back in.

This routine carried on for several minutes before Glinda gave up- if only shortly. "All right," she said, flopping down onto her bed and motioning for Elphaba to join her. "Let's figure out a colour first, and then we can go from there."

Elphaba snorted. "It's always going to come back to black, I'm telling you."

"I refuse to let it," Glinda said haughtily.

"You're welcome to try."

"Okay. …Yellow?" she offered.

Elphaba looked as though she were going to be sick. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Fine, fine. Pink?"

"No," Elphaba said almost as soon as the syllable had left Glinda's mouth. "Absolutely not."

"But Elphie, pink goes good with green!" Glinda insisted.

"_No_."

"You're hopeless," she scoffed. "Orange?"

"Are you trying to make me actually capable of inducing vomit?"

"Purple?"

"If you can find a shade that doesn't make me look like a giant, walking, talking bruise, be my guest," Elphaba contended.

"Red!"

"Galinda," Elphaba said slowly, as if talking to a child, "I know winter's coming, but that doesn't mean you get to dress me up like a Lurlinemas decoration."

"Gold."

"I repeat myself: Lurlinemas decoration."

"White, then!"

"No."

"Blue?"

"I suppose I've already exhausted every shade of blue that makes me look halfway presentable. Hence all the black."

"No black."

Elphaba sat back, crossing her arms. "Then Elphaba doesn't go."

Glinda clenched her jaw. "Brown, then, and that's the closest you're getting to black."

Elphaba looked at her doubtfully. "Do you actually have anything brown? I thought that was an extreme fashion blunder, or whatever people are calling it these days."

"As a matter of fact, I do," Glinda said huffily. "…Er, rather, I think I do."

Ignoring Elphaba's snickers, Glinda ran back to her armoire and started rifling through the dresses in there like a man dying from thirst who suddenly sees an oasis in the distance.

"Aha! …No, wait, that's just a dark red."

Several moments later, Glinda made a noise of actual surprise, and extricated a simple, knee-length brown party dress with a flourish. "It's perfect!" she exclaimed, thrusting it at Elphaba. "Try it on!"

Elphaba looked at the dress sceptically. "It has a rather interesting cut," she said delicately.

"Oh please," Glinda scoffed. "It's just a square-cut, it's not as though it's _plunging_ or anything. Besides," she added when Elphaba's distasteful look only remained, "you have lovely collarbones; it'll look nice on you."

Elphaba took the hanger out of Glinda's hands and held it at arm's length, as though it were a fragile piece of machinery ready to explode, before shuffling to the small bathroom.

As her friend changed, Glinda started fumbling through her makeup stock, removing several objects she would need. She dropped a lip-gloss container into a deep hatbox on the side of her desk, and when she reached in, she pulled out the infamous Witch hat along with the tube. Wordless pain lumped in her throat, and she had a sudden impulse to give it to Elphaba, even though she knew it would only cause the girl ridicule. She convinced herself it was for the better, that this hat never be given- logically, it would only make things worse. Still, a small, nostalgic part of her was mourning the loss of the iconic hat. Just as she replaced the hat into the box with an odd amount of tenderness, Elphaba walked out, scuffling uncomfortably.

"It's not bad," she murmured, looking down at the patterned waist.

Glinda squealed again, forcing all melancholy out of her mind. "Oh, Elphie, it looks wonderful on you!"

It really did. Glinda had been right; the neckline greatly accentuated Elphaba's neck and collarbones, making her look, if possible, even taller, and definitely elegant.

"Okay, now your hair and makeup."

Several hours later, the two were finally done preparing, though the party still did not start for nearly an hour. Elphaba looked far more dressed up than she usually was, but it did look nice: the small hints of makeup Glinda had fought her way to apply drew attention to her face, as did her flowing hair she had been convinced to let down. Glinda was far more underdressed than she had ever been in her Shiz days; only a slight brushing of blush, a little bit of mascara, and lip-gloss were applied, and her pink dress was far less elaborate than most of her other dresses.

There was enough time to kill that Glinda knew she had to distract Elphaba, or all the makeup would vanish and the brown dress would mysteriously turn black before the party's beginning an hour later.

So, they walked over to Nessarose's room. Elphaba was rather impractical, trying futilely to hide behind Glinda as they walked, fearing that someone would see her and ridicule her. Glinda merely let her, reasoning that the dorm was not too far away, and most students were in their own dorms getting ready. Apparently, this was to be the party of the season, and anyone who was anybody- and those who were not- was planning on attending.

It took Nessarose quite a while to answer the door, and the reason became apparent after she did. "Sorry," she breathed. "I was getting ready." She was wearing the same outfit Glinda remembered her other self wearing all those years ago- a pretty pink dress with a matching bow. "Elphaba!" she exclaimed, seeing her sister for the first time as she emerged from behind Glinda. "You look spectacular!"

Glinda grinned smugly. "See?" she said towards Elphaba, who only blushed.

"It's just surprise that I'm not wearing black, I assure you."

"Are you nearly ready to go, Nessa?" Glinda asked.

"Yes," the younger girl replied. "I just have to get my shoes…"

Glinda looked towards where Nessarose was looking- her shoes were just peeking out from underneath her bed. "Here," she said, trying to avert a possible crisis. "Let me get them."

Nessarose smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she murmured as she took the proffered shoes from Glinda. "It would have taken me ages to get them, myself."

They sat in Nessarose's dorm for another half-hour or so before Boq knocked on the door; and with that, they left the campus for the Ballroom.

The air was even chillier than it had been the previous night, and Glinda found herself shivering violently in the sleeveless dress she had stupidly worn. The Thropp sisters were not much better off- both of them were wearing short sleeves, and though Nessa had brought a light jacket, it was not appearing to help much.

As the Ballroom came in sight, the atmosphere had a definite upward lift- people nearby were chattering, girls were dressed up, guys were huddling together as though to figure out which girl they'd ask to dance first, and music drifted towards their ears.

Nessarose looked excited, and clutched onto Boq's hand with a surprising amount of strength obvious to the other two girls; poor Boq's hand was turning white, though he did not seem to mind. Contrarily, he looked as excited as she did, though the apprehension he felt was certainly more obvious as well.

Elphaba, on the other hand, looked terrified. She had been fidgeting at an increasing rate ever since they had left campus; she alternated between pulling the neck of the dress up as much as possible and smoothing the end down. Now, she was messing with her hair, running her fingers through it and pulling on the ends of it.

"Elphaba," Glinda whispered, not wishing to alert Boq and Nessa.

Elphaba's head shot up.

"Calm down," Glinda murmured. "It's going to be fine."

Elphaba nodded, though she looked even more panicky than before. "I shouldn't have come," she moaned.

"Nonsense," Glinda replied. "Look, it won't be bad, all right?" She prayed to any deity listening that those words turned out to be true.

Elphaba nodded again. "Okay."

As soon as the syllable passed her lips, the four of them passed through the doorway to the bright lights and loud music that was expected at such parties.

_Let the party begin_, Glinda thought tentatively.


	8. A Good Time

**A/N:** I really do have the best readers in the world. We broke 140 reviews and 50 alerts last chapter, and this chapter makes this story the longest I've ever done (sadly).

You guys are still split rather evenly regarding the updates question I posed. So if, with this chapter, you could drop me a review and add to it whether you'd prefer shorter updates less often, about the same as now, or longer updates less often, that'd be wonderful.

Thanks for sticking with me thus far!

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.**

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**A Good Time**

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They entered the ballroom and were immediately enveloped in swirls of colour, whirls of sound, and the common sights and smells of a party. There were a large amount of students dancing, mostly in pairs, but a fair amount were just loitering by the refreshment stands, chattering and sending furtive glances at members of the opposite sex.

Nessarose breathed in excitedly. "Oh, it's so wonderful," she murmured, barely loud enough to hear. "I've never been to a party, before."

"Never?" Boq asked, incredulity swamping his tone.

To tell the truth, Glinda was a bit surprised, herself. She knew this would be the first party Elphaba had attended, but she figured that surely Nessarose, as the next in line for the position of Governor, would at least have attended a few social gatherings.

"Never," she confirmed wistfully. "It's not as though I can dance, and I didn't have many friends in Munchkinland."

That, unfortunately, did not come as a shock. People did not like what they could not understand, and children, especially, could be unwittingly cruel. "Well," Glinda said, straightening her back. "Shall we move in further?"

Elphaba, still looking a tad nauseous and more than a tad apprehensive, merely sent a helpless look back at her.

Nessarose nodded, however. "I'm parched," she announced. "May we head over to the refreshment stand?"

"Of course," Glinda said with a small laugh. She then watched as Boq walked beside Nessarose, chatting with her eagerly as they walked (or rolled, in Nessa's case) towards the stand.

Glinda padded along behind them at a slower pace, hoping not to discomfort Elphaba any more. "You sure you'll be all right?" she said to her friend.

Elphaba grimaced. "Look, I should really not have come." She paused then, her gaze sweeping over the crowds of starry-eyed couples, rowdy boys, and flirtatious girls. "I think I ought to head back."

"Oh, Elphaba, please don't," Glinda pleaded. "Look, everyone's so busy with themselves and their dates- they'll have neither the time nor will to mess with you."

Elphaba sighed. "I really should go. I could be studying instead-"

"Or staying here, with me. Please? Nessa and Boq will be doe-eyed for one another all night, and if you leave, I'll be all alone."

To her credit, Elphaba did look slightly more uncomfortable at that. "You won't be all alone," she countered. "I'm sure Fiyero will want to dance with you for at least one song. And what about all your other friends?"

Glinda did not answer her directly. "Please?" she repeated, her voice quieting so much she was pretty sure Elphaba was not even able to hear her.

Elphaba sighed. "If I stay, I do not have to dance, I do not have to talk to anyone I don't want to, and we can leave early."

Glinda grinned. "That's perfectly fine with me."

Nessarose and Boq chose that moment to rejoin them, three cups balanced precariously on Nessa's chair.

Glinda immediately grabbed two of them, preventing them from falling over, and handed one to Elphaba, taking a sip out of the other one, herself. "Thanks," she murmured after a few sips; though the punch wasn't exactly the tastiest she'd ever had, it certainly did wonders for her dry throat. The four of them headed over to a table, sipping their drinks in relative silence.

"So, how are things?" Boq finally asked the three of them after a long lull in conversation, the silence only broken by drifting talk and the music.

"The same as ever," Elphaba mumbled, slumping down even further in her chair.

Glinda sighed, feeling the sudden melancholy mood slip over them like a blanket. "They've been better."

Nessarose, on the other hand, grinned. "Things have been great, thanks," she chirped. "And you?"

"Things haven't been bad," Boq admitted, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

Glinda scoffed. "Oh, please. If you two are going to be flirting, don't do it in our presence," she teased.

"We're not flirting!" they both immediately cried, only to have their blushes deepen upon the realisation that they had spoken in unison.

Elphaba burst out laughing, clutching at her sides. "Oh, Nessa," she gasped between breaths, "you don't realise how fun it's going to be to tease you."

"Um, Miss Galinda?"

All four of their heads shot up to see the source of the voice. A young man stood there- his face looked about their age, but he was slightly shorter than the average student.

"Yes?" Glinda responded, trying rapidly to see if she could recall who he was.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "If you're not too busy, do you think I could dance with you?"

She gave up on trying to remember him, scratching it up to a lost cause. "Sure, why not?" she said after a pause. She got up, sent a subtle apologetic glance to her friends, and allowed herself to be whisked onto the dance floor.

"Thank you," the young man said as soon as they started dancing. "I didn't think you would accept."

"It's not a big deal," Glinda said dismissively. "It's just a dance. Though, I do have to admit I can't recall your name."

"Faris," he replied, a short laugh colouring his tone.

"It's a lovely name," Glinda said. "What area of Oz are you from?"

"The Glikkus," Faris replied. "Have you ever been?"

"No, I'm afraid not," she replied honestly. The Glikkus was one of the few areas- in addition to most of Quadling Country- where Madame Morrible and the Wizard had not sent her, or where she had not had the chance to travel to in the year of her reign. …How long ago that seemed, now.

They danced in relative silence for several more moments, before Faris spoke again. "So who are your friends?" he asked, nodding his head towards the table where Elphaba, Boq, and Nessarose still sat.

"Boq's from Munchkinland- we've met before Shiz, but I only really got to know him recently," Glinda started. "Nessarose is also from Munchkinland- she's the girl in the wheelchair. I only met her recently, but she is a sweet girl, and she's becoming a good friend. And Elphaba is my roommate, and one of my best friends."

"The green one?" Faris interrupted, a frown appearing for a moment on his face.

"Yes," Glinda said, anger starting to creep up on her, "the green one. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," he said, sounding a bit taken-aback at her tone. "I'm just surprised you don't, is all, judging on all I've heard of you."

Glinda nearly growled. "Don't believe everything you hear," she said. "Most gossip is just that- gossip. Pure lies fabricated for people's amusement. Most gossip is not the truth."

"Alright, alright," he said, taking one hand off her waist to hold it up in defeat. "I did not mean to make you angry, I was just curious."

"It's alright," Glinda acquiesced, though she was still irritated.

The song ended not long afterwards, and Faris gave her a half-bow before leading her back to her seat. "Thank you for the dance, Miss Galinda," he said before he left.

"And you, Master Faris," Glinda replied, taking to her seat again.

Elphaba smirked as the young man walked away. "Did you enjoy yourself?" she asked with a barely-concealed snicker.

"Yes, Elphie," Glinda said, rolling her eyes. "He was relatively kind, actually."

"Relatively?" Elphaba repeated, disbelief stealing into her voice.

"What, did he ask before trying to cop a feel?" Nessarose asked, her tone oddly polite for such a crass remark.

Glinda and Boq gaped, and Elphaba simply _howled_ in laughter.

"Oh, Nessie," she said when her laughter slowed some, "I never believed you were my sister until now- you were simply too good."

Nessarose grinned. "And now my lowered level of purity confirms our genetics, in your mind?"

"Yes," Elphaba replied with a smirk, still laughing.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice came from behind Glinda.

She turned around to see who it was, though she already had a sneaking suspicion. It was Fiyero.

"No, not at all," Elphaba replied, her tone suddenly cool, all traces of humour gone.

He only did a slight double-take at her features, thank goodness. "Good evening, everyone," he said, nodding his head to each of them in turn.

"Good evening, Fiyero," Glinda replied when it seemed no one else would. "How can we help you?"

"Actually," he started, "I was wondering if I could dance with you?"

Glinda bit her lip. She really didn't want to give Fiyero the wrong idea- though he had seemed all right with her when she said the previous day that she wasn't interested in him. "To be honest, Fiyero, I'm not really in the mood for dancing. I danced just a minute ago, and I'm afraid I really wore the wrong kind of shoes- my feet are killing me already."

He did look a bit disappointed, but he smiled. "All right, thanks anyway." He turned to leave, but paused mid-step. "Actually, would you all mind if I sat with you? I'm getting kind of tired of dancing, myself."

"I don't mind," Glinda said, and looked to the others for confirmation. Boq and Nessarose nodded, however tentatively. Elphaba didn't budge, but Glinda took her silence for an 'I don't care' kind of answer. She gestured to an empty seat nearby, which Fiyero pulled up in between Boq and Glinda's chairs.

"I don't believe I've met you all," Fiyero confessed after a minute. He nodded towards Nessa, saying, "I met you when I first arrived, but I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Nessa," she replied. "This is my sister, Elphaba, and Boq."

"It's nice to meet you all," he responded. "So you're Galinda's roommate?" he asked Elphaba.

She nodded- or, rather, moved her head up and down a centimetre.

The conversation died again, enveloping them in their surrounding sounds once more.

"All right," Fiyero said finally, standing up. "I'd rather dance than just sit here, for obviously we've exhausted the option of conversating," he said with a grin. "Galinda, you're sure you don't want to dance?"

Glinda nodded meekly.

"Miss Elphaba, what about you?"

"Dance?" Elphaba replied dubiously.

"Yes. With me."

"I don't dance," she said simply, folding her arms over her chest protectively.

Fiyero frowned. "You don't dance," he repeated.

"That's right."

"Everyone dances," he admonished.

Elphaba pursed her lips. "Not me," she said. "I've never danced, I don't care to dance right now, and I probably never will dance."

Fiyero gaped. "All right, we're dancing. Come on, I'll show you how."

"Master Fiyero, I don't want to dance," Elphaba said coldly.

"All right, all right," he said backing off as Glinda shot him a warning look. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "What about you, Miss Nessarose?"

Nessarose looked at him in disbelief. "Are you poking fun at me?"

"What?" he asked. "No, I'm being serious. Do you want to dance?"

As if she were demonstrating to an overemotional three year old that square pegs do not fit in round holes, Nessarose slowly pointed to the dance floor, her feet, and the wheelchair she sat in. "I can't dance," she begged off apologetically.

"Sure you can," he said with a grin. "Like I told your sister, everyone can dance."

Nessarose smiled painfully. "Believe me, I'd like to try, but I can't."

"May I?" Fiyero asked, moving to her chair.

She frowned. "You're welcome to try, but I can't dance-"

He interrupted her by wheeling her out onto the floor before giving her a half-bow. He then began alternating between dancing and wheeling her chair around in dance-like patterns; much to Nessarose's delight, she was dancing.

Glinda smiled softly, watching them. Fiyero could be sweet, when he stopped caring about his self-consciousness and what those around him thought. And good for him, to take the time to be kind to Nessarose.

Boq, on the other hand, was scowling darkly.

Glinda giggled upon seeing his expression. "Oh, relax, Boq," she said. "He's just being kind- he's not trying to steal her away from you."

Boq simply looked at her, his look not changing.

"And even if he were," she continued, "it's not as though he would succeed. Anyone with eyes can see that Nessa's completely smitten with you."

"You think so?" Boq said, his scowl melting away to a blush and a faint smile.

"I know so."

"He's actually very smart," Elphaba commented thoughtfully, watching her sister 'dance' with Fiyero.

That was the last thing Glinda expected to come out of her mouth. "He's actually very smart?" Glinda repeated. "Why would you say that?"

Elphaba smiled ruefully. "He's playing right into your hands. He asked you out, you decline, so he instead invites you and your friends to a party, and he's kind to all of us, making you see he's not a bad person."

"He's not a bad person," Glinda agreed. "That doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind about dating him."

Elphaba looked at her sceptically. "Perhaps you're right, but he seems to be good at what he's doing."

"What, being nice?" Glinda shot back. "Elphaba, if you're miffed because he's dancing with Nessa and not you then tell him you do want to learn how to dance and be done with it."

Elphaba shook her head. "That's not it at all," she said forcefully. "I just don't want to see you- or Nessa- get hurt."

"How would we get hurt?"

Elphaba threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know, okay? It's just, none of us seem to know anything about this guy, so for all we know he could be a real creep."

"If you're that worried, then, take it upon yourself to find out for us," Glinda said simply, smiling serenely.

Elphaba huffed and leaned further back in her seat. "Maybe I will," she grumbled.

Fiyero wheeled Nessarose back to the table after that, the song having finished. Both their faces were flushed, and Nessa was ecstatic. "Thank you, Master Fiyero," she said with a grin once she had situated herself back in her place at the table.

"It was my pleasure," Fiyero said with a laugh. "And please, call me Fiyero."

"And you can call me Nessa," she replied.

Boq scowled again.

Fiyero sat back down in his seat and drank the rest of his punch with a flourish. "I need more punch," he commented, more to himself than anyone else. He raised his view to the others, then. "Anyone care to go with me to get refills?"

"I will," Glinda said, seizing the opportunity to speak with Fiyero alone. She grabbed her own cup, and Elphaba's (for it had been empty for some while, now), and followed him to the refreshment stand.

"Is Elphaba always like that?" Fiyero asked off-handedly while they were standing in line for punch.

"Like what?" Glinda asked, though she was pretty sure she knew already.

He shrugged. "She doesn't seem to like me. She's very… cold."

Glinda sighed. "She can be, before you get to know her. She doesn't trust people, much. I don't think she understands you, as well."

"Me?" he repeated, confused. "What's there to understand about me? I'm a very simple person."

"Well," she began to elaborate, "she doesn't understand why you can be a complete ass to some people, but all of the sudden you're being nice to her and Nessarose."

He frowned. "I'm not an ass to most people. …Am I?"

"Not that I've seen," she agreed, "but Elphaba has a preconceived notion of you."

He snorted. "Judgemental of her."

"Don't judge her," Glinda implored.

"I won't if she won't judge me."

"And don't be so childish!"

He blushed. "Sorry," he apologised sheepishly. After filling up their drinks and heading back towards the table, he asked, "Is there any way I can get her to know her?"

Glinda smiled thinly. "I wouldn't ask her to dance- she doesn't like crowds. Perhaps something a bit more reclusive?"

He nodded, apparently still deep in thought. "What about a walk?"

"A walk sounds perfect."

"If she'll agree to it," Fiyero said with a short laugh as they neared the table.

Which was a valid question in itself, Glinda thought dismally.

With the drinks refilled and tempers relaxed, conversation flowed more easily, and an hour easily passed before any of them noticed it.

Fiyero stretched. "Mm, it's getting warm in here." After a pause, he asked, "Would anyone care to join me for a walk?"

Boq looked to Nessarose. "Actually, Nessa, would you care to dance?"

Glinda barely suppressed a smile. Was he actually getting jealous of Fiyero?

Nonetheless, Nessarose happily agreed, and the couple was out on the dance floor before any of the others said a word.

"Galinda?" Fiyero asked.

"Actually, I'm still rather tired," she said, yawning for effect. "Perhaps Elphie will join you?"

If looks could kill, Glinda would be six feet under. "_Elphaba_ wouldn't really care for a walk right now," Elphaba said through gritted teeth.

"Please, Miss Elphaba?" Fiyero asked, seeming genuinely earnest.

"It's really cold out," she replied, obviously grasping for reasons why she couldn't go on a walk at this very moment.

"You could borrow my coat," Fiyero offered. "I'm not cold at all."

"You did want to make sure he was all right," Glinda muttered to Elphaba.

Elphaba nearly snarled. "You're a conspiring little thing, aren't you?"

"Go on, Elphaba," Glinda said, louder then. "We'll leave afterwards if you do."

Now, she could see the emotions clearly battling in her friend's eyes. "How long of a walk, Master Fiyero?" she asked him.

"It doesn't have to be too long," he offered.

"All right," Elphaba said, caving. "One small walk, and then we can leave."

Fiyero handed his jacket to Elphaba, and the two walked out of the side door onto a pathway, talking precariously.

All around her, the party whirled and swirled in an array of light, sound, smells, and colours, but Glinda was peaceful, sitting at the table alone, watching Boq and Nessarose dance.

Life was, at least for the moment, good.

* * *

Two quick notes:

1. Meltalviel does not in any way, shape, or form support the word 'conversate'. I thought it'd be funny for Fiyero to use it is all.  
2. I'm not planning on including the Fiyero/Elphaba walk in the next chapter, but I am thinking of making it a separate "missing scene" oneshot. Let me know if you would like to see that!

Some of the wonderful people who keep me writing this holiday season (10 days til Christmas, guys!) are **0xRENTxOZxHeadx0**, **Vicster's Jar of Dirt**, **iHeartYou13**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **TryDefyingGravity**,** Love That Wicked**, **PhoenixEmbers**, **broadwaylover07**, **yerosmyhero**, **Lady Tiggular**, **LostOzian**, **MoonlitInuko**, **Hermione781**, **yeroandfae714**, **QuinSeparable**, and **musicfan1207**. Thanks so much for reviewing last chapter! Thanks also go to **OtakuGamerGirl**, **Defying Gravity 728**, **just-call-me-Elphie**, **Western Arawen**, **Matts-Girl1**, **pokey**, **darkruki008**, **Teh Snitter**, **lotrelves**, **charmednwicked**, **zarri-of-the-vinkus**, **Sale**, **Sparkling Patronus**, **The Wolfinator**, **OMG it's WickedJelly**, **storytellers**, **Valieara**, **Seishou**, **wolfdream**, **heatherkinz**, **Dyani**, **MuchTooHighACost**, **Avelera**, **Thyryam**, **aimtbj**, **Pearl127**, **Da Bao**, **grey**-**eyed-goddess**, **StevenQ**, **HaChosenOne**, **Queen of the Unknown**, and **danderson** for reviewing past chapters :)

You guys all rock my socks.


	9. Paved With Good Intentions

**A/N:** Maan, at the end of last chapter, I was feeling good. End of story arc! Idea for a Fiyeraba 'missing scene'! Delving into plot soon! ...Life didn't agree with me. So I'm very sorry for the long wait, but apparently inspiration wasn't a Christmas gift for me this year :(. Also, this is a very short chapter. I'm very sorry xD. I'll try and make the next one long.

Thank you, _thank you_, **thank you** to everyone who's taken the time to read this (especially if you've reviewed or added it to your favourite stories list / story alerts)! This year of Wicked fanfiction writing (a whole year, how insane is that? My first oneshot was 1-3-07) gives me hope for 2008 :).

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ֺ**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.  
**

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**Paved with Good Intentions**

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With the Ozdust Ball cementing Fiyero's entrance into their group of friends, the circle was forged once more- weak, hesitant, suspicious, and naïve, at times, but it was formed, and every passing day stood only to reinforce the strengthening bonds between them.

Autumn faded like an old photograph, the leaves browning and curling with age. Winter was dominant now, the darkness lengthening as the electricity associated with the first flurries began to encroach the days' lessons. Students skipped classes to curl by a fire, professors became infested with the holiday cheer and lessened their homework load, and campus in general became more jovial in nature.

The morning of the first snow came far earlier than expected, dawn seeping through every pore of the trees outside the dorm windows, the dead leaves doing a poor job of filtering the sunlight to prevent it from shining on the face of one Glinda Upland. She groaned in response as the sunlight struck bright, hot, and painful onto her eyes, and turned over, now fully awake. It was only a week before Lurlinemas, and the skies were already darkening with the tell-tale storm clouds brewing in the distance.

Morning was relatively normal. Glinda and Elphaba awoke, chattered a bit, generally prepared themselves for class, and then left to find Nessarose and meet Boq and Fiyero in the mess hall.

Even their classes that morning were uneventful. Cosmetology and Ozian Literature were much more interesting with Boq, Nessarose, and Elphaba (in Literature, at least) to keep her company, but somehow with the lingering anticipation of snow, time seemed to inch by even slower and each word from the professors' mouths became incomprehensible.

Finally, lunch arrived. Glinda walked with Boq and Nessarose to their 'usual' table, Fiyero arriving a few moments later, shovelling food onto his plate and into his mouth at a ridiculous pace.

Several silent minutes passed before Boq spoke up. "Where is Elphaba?"

A frown flickered onto the others' faces as though they had just realised their friend was missing.

"What was her last class?" Nessarose asked. "Perhaps she stayed after."

Glinda blanched. "Sorcery," she murmured.

Fiyero shrugged nonchalantly. "She probably is just asking Morrible a question or something," he said between bites.

Nessarose nodded, but Boq still looked as queasy as Glinda felt- apparently her dislike of Morrible had rubbed off.

"Do you think we should go look for her?" Glinda asked.

"You're overreacting, Galinda," Nessarose said with a wave of her hand. "She will be here any minute."

And so Glinda went back to poking her food with her fork, her irrational worry only heightening until Elphaba finally entered the hall and sat down next to her, looking oddly distracted and pensive.

Silence reigned as Elphaba put her books down and started scribbling in a notebook, blissfully unaware of her friends' discomfort.

Fiyero finally broke the silence. "Everything all right, Elphie?"

Her head shot up, her pen temporarily paused as she looked around at the four of them. "Perfectly fine," she said hesitantly. "Why?"

Fiyero grinned, apparently satisfied by the answer. "Ah, no reason, Galinda was just worrying about you."

"I'm fine," she repeated, her gaze landing on Glinda and staying there for a hesitant moment too long. "Madame Morrible was just talking to me about my future in the seminar."

She was lying, Glinda realised, as she watched her friend's downcast eyes. Why, she couldn't begin to fathom, but she was lying- Glinda had been around her long enough to tell.

The bell that ended lunch rang only a few tense minutes later. "I will see you all later," Elphaba said as she got up. "I have to go back to the dormitory for a moment to grab some things."

"I'll go with you," Glinda immediately offered. "I need to drop off my books anyway."

The look Elphaba sent her made it clear she wasn't fooling anyone.

The two roommates walked back to their dorm in relative silence, Elphaba refusing to look up from the ground, Glinda unsure how to prompt conversation.

They were still dancing around each other once in the room, the tune awkward and discordant. Finally giving up on trying to figure out what had made Elphaba so ill at ease, Glinda started searching for her Sciences book.

"Glinda, could you pass me that workbook?" Elphaba asked, half-hidden underneath her bed where she was looking for an elusive book.

Without thinking, Glinda obliged.

One second passed. She could feel her friend's stare lock onto the back of her head.

Another second and her mistake hit her.

By the third second, Glinda was mentally hitting her head on whatever she could think of, trying to resist the instinctual cringe.

Four seconds. _Might as well face the music_, Glinda thought with an internal sigh as she plastered a confused expression onto her face. "What did you call me?" she said as she turned towards her friend.

"Glinda," Elphaba said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Glinda asked with a laugh, though to her horror it came out rather strained and nervous.

"I wanted to see if you would respond to it. You did- rather quickly, too."

"I guess I must be used to it from Doctor Dillamond's class," Glinda said with a wave of her hand.

"Glinda. Don't lie," Elphaba murmured. "Is that your name? Glinda?"

"No," Glinda said, reasoning that her name really was Galinda at this point, even if she felt she was past that point in her life. "Why did you call me that?"

Elphaba sighed, sitting down on the end of her bed. "I wanted to see if there was an explanation for Morrible calling you that."

Glinda swore she felt her heart skip a beat. "What?" she inquired faintly. "Morrible called me Glinda?"

"Yes," Elphaba said, a frown colouring her face. "We were briefly talking about you towards the end of the seminar, only she kept calling you Glinda. I thought it might have been a mistake, at first, or just a slip of the tongue, but when I asked her about it, she seemed…" she trailed off uncertainly.

"Seemed what?" Glinda prompted, a shadow creeping into her thoughts.

"She seemed flustered," Elphaba replied eventually. "As though it were a bad thing that I noticed her calling you Glinda… or a bad thing that she even called you that in the first place; I'm not quite sure."

Glinda's mind roared. What could this possibly mean? Had she slipped up, perhaps, and written her name as Glinda Upland somewhere? Was it just an accident, Madame Morrible having one too many discussions with Doctor Dillamond? …Or could it possibly be something more? She didn't know she could handle it if Morrible somehow found out about this whole precarious situation. If Morrible found out- or if she already knew… With both Fate and Morrible actively conspiring to stop her plans, Glinda would be royally doomed.

"Elphaba," Glinda said suddenly. "What were you and Morrible discussing regarding me?

Her roommate shifted uncomfortably. "Well, she asked me if you had shown any signs of magickal talents."

"You said no, right?" Glinda asked desperately.

Elphaba sighed. "Yes, I said no."

"And then?"

"And then she sighed. I think she knows, Galinda," Elphaba said cautiously. "I really have no idea how she could know, but I really think she knows. She asked me if you had shown any signs of foreknowledge, of predicting things before they happen."

Glinda's blood ran cold as her thoughts screeched to a freezing halt. "How could she know?"

"I don't know," repeated Elphaba. "She then said you could be a danger if not trained properly…"

Danger? Hah. The only type of danger she could possibly be was an obstacle in her wizened Headmistress's schemes. She paused for a long moment, then two.

She needed to find out what Morrible knew. The only question was how?

"Elphaba," Glinda said. "When is your next class?"

She looked bewildered. "I have a study period right now, and a class in about two hours. Why?"

Glinda inhaled sharply, setting her jaw into a firm line. "I need you to do me a favour."

* * *

Elphaba paused as she reached her destination. She hesitated before lifting her fist to knock hollowly on the tall wooden doors.

"Come in," came the voice of one Madame Morrible.

Elphaba opened the doors and took a step into the garishly lavished office. "Madame, if you have a moment, I was wondering if I could speak to you?"

Morrible frowned, setting her pen down and folding up the piece of paper she had been writing on. "Of course, dear. What can I help you with?"

Elphaba faltered. "It's actually about my roommate, Galinda Upland," she said eventually.

Morrible visibly straightened. "Oh? What about her? I thought we had discussed her earlier."

"We did," Elphaba confirmed. "But what I said earlier, about her showing no magickal abilities… I lied," she confessed.

Surprisingly, the older woman's expression showed no signs of surprise. "Somehow I thought that was the case," Morrible said.

"I am sorry for lying," Elphaba murmured, hanging her head slightly. "But I was worried about her, and she seems as though she really dislikes divulging that to other people, and I kept her secret."

Morrible nodded. "But what magickal talents has she been exhibiting?" she asked.

Elphaba furrowed her brow. "That's the thing. She has been having vivid nightmares nearly every night since she came to Shiz- sometimes she reacts to them so violently that it will rouse me from sleep. There has been numerous times where she's been crying and shaking, so obviously they're bad. When I asked her about them, she lied at first, but then eventually admitted they were vision type things."

Morrible's eyebrows rose. "Visions?"

"Yes, Madame," Elphaba confirmed. "She also seems to know a few things before they happen."

"Such as?"

"Well, she knew I was about to lose my temper that day with the fight in the dining hall," Elphaba elaborated.

"Has she mentioned me at all?" Morrible asked suddenly.

Elphaba was taken aback. "Actually, yes, a few times."

"What did she say?"

"She said not to trust you," Elphaba said simply.

Morrible's face contorted into an irony-filled smile. "And what do you think of that?"

Elphaba cringed, her gaze focusing on the elaborate candle holder on the corner of Morrible's desk, refusing to meet the woman's eyes. "I'm not sure what to think," she replied honestly. "I mean, on the one hand, she seems genuinely concerned for me, and she is one of my best friends."

"But…?" Madame Morrible prompted.

"But I'm not sure whether her warnings are purely altruistic," Elphaba said, finally meeting her gaze. "I've had people take advantage of me in the past, so I really am not sure what to believe."

Morrible nodded thoughtfully. "Well, thank you for telling me, Miss Elphaba. I'll be sure to include her in sorcery seminars."

Elphaba nodded her acquiescence, obviously catching that the discussion was over. She rose from her chair, turned to leave, but paused for a moment. "Madame?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, dearie?" Morrible responded.

"Do you really think I could help the Wizard?"

The smile that crossed the Headmistress's face was an odd one. "Oh, Miss Elphaba, I'm absolutely positive you'll be able to help him in more ways than you could possibly imagine."

Elphaba resisted the urge to frown and simply nodded as she left the office.

Morrible chuckled disdainfully to the empty room. "So what to do about our Miss Glinda, hmm?"

* * *

Three quick notes:

1. If Wicked's taught you anything, it's taught you this: don't judge based on appearances.  
2. The Fiyeraba oneshot may be uploaded tomorrow, it may be uploaded three months from now. I'll be working on it, but I've only written one sentence so far .  
3. For those of you familiar with the BAS (and those of you who aren't), I've started a critique group-type thing. If you'd like to join, have your stories critiqued and help give advice to others, stop by SparklingPatronus's forums and click on the Critique Group thread :).

Special thanks go to **claire**, **Allison**, **Flippernino**, **Opapea**, **Shady Lady**, **lotrelves**, **broadwaylover07**, **grey-eyed-goddess**, **iHeartYou13**, **darkruki008**, **Sale**, **yerosmyhero**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **Pearl127**, **Defying Gravity 728**, **Curlycurlz**, **MoonlitInuko**, **Hermione781**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **Embers of Twilight**, **danderson**, **Lady Tiggular**, **Love That Wicked**, **fermataoso**, **LostOzian**, **0xRENTxOZxHeadx0**, and **QuinSeparable**.

Seriously, I meant what I said about '08 :)


	10. One Good Turn

**A/N:** First off, I'm dying. 10 chapters. Almost 30k words. **200 **freaking reviews. 49 favourites, and 65 alerts? I love each and every one of you XD.

Secondly, thanks so much to my new betas, **Dyani** and **Sparky Heffely**. You guys have been great, especially getting me to write down all my ideas ;).

Thirdly, I won't be writing much in the near future. I tried out for a play, finally, and got one of the leading roles! So, from now (quite literally- tomorrow's the first rehearsal) until April I'm going to be busy rehearsing Seussical. I got JoJo, so I'm quite happy :D.

Anyway, on with the show.

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.**

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**One Good Turn**

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"Concentrate."

Glinda clenched her jaw in irritation. It was a lot easier said than done, especially when every time she started to concentrate, the horrible, grating voice of Madame Morrible cut through her thoughts as though they were soft as butter.

It was several days after the 'Glinda – Galinda mix up' fiasco, and the day of Glinda's first sorcery seminar had arrived. It was the last class of the day, so evening was already breaking, and Glinda was already exhausted. Morrible, of course, had not hesitated in singling the girl out straight off the bat, telling Elphaba she would do her best to catch poor Galinda up.

And so here Glinda was, standing in front of a table, staring at a feather and feeling rather ridiculous. How in Oz did Morrible expect her to move it with just her mind? She did not have those sorts of talents like Elphaba did.

"Concentrate," Morrible repeated, exasperation flooding her tone.

"I am," Glinda muttered through grit teeth. "It really is harder than it looks, Madame."

Morrible sighed and collapsed into a chair. "Perhaps we could be addressing this from the wrong angle."

_Finally_, Glinda thought as she followed suit and sat down as well.

"All right. As Miss Elphaba probably knows, magic is easier to let loose when one feels a particularly strong emotion." Here Morrible glanced at Elphaba, who blushed in mortification. "However, it is also a lot harder to keep your powers under rein when feeling emotional. But perhaps that could be the best place to begin, to get things started."

"What?" Glinda thought out loud. What exactly was Morrible trying to convince her to do?

Morrible smiled, an odd gleam in her eye. "Why don't you try it, Miss Galinda?"

Glinda bowed her head under the pretence of polite aversion. "I am afraid I do not quite understand what you are asking, Madame," she said as sweetly as possible.

Morrible sighed. "Try thinking of a memory that makes you particularly happy, or sad, or angry. Anything that can get your emotions riled up one way or another. I have a feeling that, once trained, you could become a lovely little sorceress."

The phrase struck a chord in Glinda's older, constantly dimming memories.

"_You're blooming into a lovely little politician."_

Without caring how Morrible was staring at her now, Glinda clenched her fists as an onslaught of remembrance attacked her.

"_Take a look at yourself, Glinda. You're pathetic. You're miserable."_

Instinctually, as if some distant remnant of the memory Morrible was still tormenting her, Glinda's gaze snapped upwards to glare at the feather defiantly, a harsh grin forming of its own accord.

_Just wait until I'm done, Morrible_, she thought, her fingernails biting into the skin on her palm, little red crescents appearing in their wake. _All your plans are going up in smoke._

Just as soon as the thought flitted through her mind, it disappeared in a cloud of confusion as she heard Elphaba give a surprised yelp behind her.

She looked up to see the feather trembling, quivering in anticipation as some unknown force stroked it into coercion. Her concentration disappeared as soon as it had appeared. She snapped out of the angry, dreamlike state she had been in and collapsed into the chair once more, feeling completely sapped of energy. "I- I did that?" she asked weakly. "I really did that?"

"You really did," Elphaba said, a note of confusion in her tone.

Glinda blinked again, as if she expected to see the world crashing down around her. "But I can't do magic."

At this, Morrible ducked her head, and Elphaba sent Glinda an incredulous look. "Can't do magic?" her friend mouthed her after a quick glance at Morrible.

"Don't be ridiculous," Morrible said. "How else could you know some of the things you know?"

Glinda frowned, glancing at Elphaba. "Such as?"

Morrible waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you know what I'm talking about, dearie. Now, try it again."

An exhausting hour later, Glinda had made no more process, and class was finally over. "That's fine, dearie," Morrible said as they made their way towards the door. "You did wonderfully."

A crack of thunder from outside followed them into the hallway. It was raining- and rather hard, too, judging on the frequency and intensity of the raindrops pattering on the roof overhead. Glinda shot a sideways glance at Elphaba, who looked uneasy. "We can stay until it stops raining," she offered, hoping that Elphaba would not question her.

Elphaba shook her head. "It's just a little bit of rain," she said, forcing the door open and stepping out onto the grounds, a dark sky hanging overhead.

Glinda nearly yelped as she watched the scene envelop, an irrational urge to pull Elphaba back inside … to … safety …? Even as she watched, Elphaba was several feet ahead of her, being pounded by huge raindrops. "Elphie?" she called, confusion overtaking her. But the rain was…?

"Come on," Elphaba called from ahead. "I'm not waiting up for you out here."

They made their way back to the dormitory and stood in the hall, positively dripping. "You- but- water?" Glinda managed to stammer, watching as Elphaba wiped a bunch of water off of her arms.

Elphaba frowned. "It's just water," she muttered, looking uncomfortable.

"But…" Glinda started, completely unable to think. If Elphaba was not allergic to water…? Oh, Oz. She needed to sit down. She scrambled back to their room in an unusually short amount of time and collapsed on her bed, Elphaba trailing behind her. "You're not allergic to water?" Glinda murmured weakly.

"No," Elphaba said, looking at Glinda as though she had suddenly burst into flame. "Why in Oz would I be allergic to water?"

Oh, Lurline. How in Oz was she going to explain this…? One look at her friend's concerned face made up her mind. Perhaps it was time.

"Do you trust me, Elphaba?" Glinda asked, defeated.

Elphaba sighed. "I do, Galinda, but please don't ask me to just brush this off as another thing you cannot or will not explain to me. Honestly, I'm getting rather tired of all the dodging you have done throughout the year."

"I'm not," Glinda murmured, meeting her friend's eye and praying she understood what she was asking of her.

She did. Elphaba's eyes met Glinda's in a momentary expression of disbelief, panic, and acceptance. "I trust you," she said. "And I trust you to know when the right time to tell me is."

Glinda nodded absentmindedly. "And if I think that it's now?"

"Then I shall try to trust whatever you say."

_If only it were that easy_, Glinda thought with an internal sigh. "It may sound crazy," she warned, "but I swear that it's the truth."

"All right," Elphaba said, moving to sit next to her on the bed.

Glinda took a long breath, opened and closed her mouth several times, and groaned. "I have no idea where to start," she confessed.

"How about at the beginning?" Elphaba suggested patiently.

That made sense. With a sigh, she began. "All right. Several years ago, now, there was a girl born in Gillikin."

Elphaba stifled a laugh. "Oz, when I said start at the beginning, I didn't really mean start at the _beginning_."

Glinda shot her a pathetic look. "Elphaba, please don't interrupt me, all right? It will be hard enough to get going, but I don't know if I could start twice."

"All right," Elphaba conceded, raising her hands in surrender.

"Anyway. There was a little girl born in Gillikin." She ignored Elphaba's pointed look and continued. "Her parents named her Galinda, and she grew up spoiled mercilessly. She always had everything and anything she wanted, and she always got her way. Until she got to Shiz, that was."

With another heaved sigh, Glinda moved back to lean on the pillows at the top of her bed, fixing her stare up at the ceiling, mentally counting each bump in dip in the paint on the otherwise bare walls. "She was assigned a roommate, much to her dismay. Her roommate was her exact opposite: lanky, awkward, solitary, intelligent, and… well, green."

Elphaba shifted uncomfortably, but Glinda paid her no heed. "They hated each other."

Elphaba stilled and made to interrupt her, but held herself back at the last moment.

"They were always playing terrible tricks on one another. Galinda and her friends spread awful rumours about Elphaba, and Elphaba would ruin one of Galinda's prized outfits- on accident, she would swear. Petty little things like that," she recalled with a distantly fond smile. "Anyway, after Galinda went one step too far and publically mortified Elphaba, the two became friends. No one really understood the odd friendship, but they were soon best friends. So, it made sense that when Elphaba got summoned to the Wizard, she brought Galinda- who by then had changed her name Glinda as homage to Doctor Dillamond, their former professor."

Elphaba was frowning, her confusion blatantly apparent. "But, Galinda-"

"Please don't interrupt me," Glinda begged.

The silence was surreally evident when Elphaba nodded.

Glinda buried her face in her hands. "Anyway, when they met the Wizard, everything took a turn for the worse. They found out the Wizard was a phony, unable to do magic and responsible for the Animal repression." She chanced a glance at Elphaba then to find a fleeting stab of anger apparent underneath her friend's confusion.

"Elphaba, of course, hated that, and refused to work with the Wizard. He didn't want to take any chances… so he, with the help of Madame Morrible, his Press Secretary, spread awful rumours about Elphaba, calling her a Wicked Witch. Glinda, too weak to go with Elphaba, was offered a position at the Wizard's side. She was too afraid of being ostracised as well, so she accepted.

"With the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West seemingly at odds with one another, Ozian society grew even worse. Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, became Governor of Munchkinland, and enslaved the Munchkins, earning her the nickname of the Wicked Witch of the East. Anyway, it all climaxed when Morrible summoned a tornado to try and harm Nessarose to draw Elphaba out into the open."

Glinda laughed bitterly. "It worked. Nessarose was killed, and the little girl who'd been in the house that fell on her was tricked into hunting the Witch of the West. She, along with the Witch Hunters, finally managed to kill her… with a bucket of water. They said she melted." Glinda furrowed her brow here. "She melted…"

"Galinda," Elphaba started, but Glinda silenced her with a wave of her shaky hand.

"A year passed," Glinda murmured. "A year passed, and when Glinda went to sleep on the anniversary of the Witch's death… she woke up on a train." A pause laden with unsaid words reigned. "I woke up here."

Elphaba shook her head. "Galinda, are you really suggesting that you think you went back in time?"

"Not suggesting, Elphaba," Glinda said daintily.

Elphaba rubbed the bridge of her nose. "That's impossible," she said faintly.

"I know," Glinda assured her. "And yet I'm here."

The fleeting glint of doubt in Elphaba's eyes threatened to undo her. "Elphaba, I swear," she said hurriedly. "I'm telling the truth. And I swear Morrible knows something."

Elphaba twirled a finger through her unruly hair and then rubbed her eyes. "So that's why you don't trust Morrible."

"Right."

"And I'm supposing you don't really have visions…?"

"No," Glinda said feebly.

"And that's how you knew about Fiyero, about my powers…?"

"Yes."

"This is insane," she said finally, still shaking her head in disbelief.

Glinda bit her lip. "Elphie?"

Elphaba's gaze snapped to hers, the hurt and confusion in her stare nearly too much for Glinda to bear.

"So it's Glinda, then?" Elphaba whispered tentatively.

"I don't know who I am anymore," Glinda conceded with a bitter, self-loathing laugh. "But I suppose I am."

Elphaba stood up and closed her eyes. "I think I liked Galinda better."

A sob rose to the back of Glinda's throat, unbidden and unwilling. "Elphaba…"

"I'll talk to you later, all right?" Elphaba beseeched, walking towards the door.

Although she hated to do it, Glinda stopped her. "Just- don't tell anyone, okay?" she implored, hating herself more in that moment than she ever had in recent memory.

Elphaba sent her a condescending glower. "I'm not stupid," she explained before walking out of the dormitory.

Glinda sank to the bed, held her knees to her chest, and sobbed herself to sleep.

How ironic it was that she had no nightmares that night.

* * *

Glinda woke up the next morning feeling more exhausted than she had since the first morning she had woken up on the train. For a brief moment, an inquiry as to why floated around in her mind before the previous night's events flitted back to her.

With a groan, Glinda grabbed her pillow and stuffed it over her head. Lurline, she didn't want to get up.

"Gal- Glinda?" Elphaba's voice filtered across the room, hesitant and quiet.

Glinda sat up, not meeting her roommate's eyes. "Call me Galinda if it's easier."

Elphaba approached Glinda's bed slowly, already dressed and looking for the world as though she had already been up for hours. "I… I have a few questions to ask you."

Glinda looked at her friend and almost laughed in an odd mixture of anxiety and relief. Elphaba was standing before her, looking rather restless and clutching to several sheets of paper.

She gave Glinda a half-hearted smile. "I wrote them down so I wouldn't forget anything."

It was such an Elphaba thing to do that Glinda could feel a few tears pricking her eyes. "All right," she murmured. "And look, I'm sorry that I put that on you… I'm sorry if I frightened you."

Elphaba didn't reply for a moment. "It must be nice, being able to talk about it," she said cautiously as though not sure of the answer.

"It is," Glinda admitted. She breathed in heavily and sat up fully, patting the bed in front of her. "So what do you want to ask me?"

Elphaba sighed and sat down on the proffered patch of bed. "All right. Now, from what I'm assuming, you knew Fiyero, Boq, Nessarose, and me in your… past, or future, or… whatever," she said awkwardly. "Am I right?"

"You're right," Glinda explained.

"Okay. You mentioned me- er, Elphaba- quite a bit, and Nessa once. What role did Boq and Fiyero play, if any?"

Glinda sighed. "We- well, they, really. We're different now, I suppose… even me. Anyway, they all met at Shiz. Elphaba and Galinda were roommates. Galinda met Nessarose through Elphaba. Boq was a Munchkin who was rather foolishly in love with Galinda. Once Fiyero showed up, Galinda was determined to date him, and Boq only seemed to be in the way, so she pawned him off on the first person she saw. It was Nessarose." Glinda paused, flushing furiously in shame. "When Nessarose became the Governess, she was so determined to keep Boq with her that she enslaved the Munchkins… so Boq came to hate her. I don't really know the specifics, but Nessarose did something, and to stop her, or counteract whatever had happened, Elphaba had to turn Boq into tin."

Elphaba's pen paused, the furious scribbles she'd been recording trailing off. "What?" she asked, aghast.

Glinda nodded. "Anyway, Boq was furious, and he joined up with Dorothy, a Lion, and a Scarecrow to become the Witch Hunters."

Elphaba looked as though she were going to be sick.

"As for Fiyero… well, his death played more of a role in the final climax than anything else, I suspect. After he died, Elphaba… well, she went a little insane," Glinda offered, internally smiling at her friend's furious blush. So some things were still the same, she mused.

"And why do you think that is?" Elphaba asked after she cleared her throat.

Glinda hesitated. She wasn't sure whether she should tell Elphaba just exactly why Fiyero's death affected her other self so much. "I suppose it was because he was the last one who really knew her, who really believed in her. Nessa was dead, Boq was Hunting her, and Glinda… well, she and Glinda had gotten into a petty fight, and both were furious at one another. Fiyero was all she had left."

Elphaba shuffled a few more papers and continued her questioning.

It went on for well over an hour, neither girl realising nor really caring that they had missed breakfast and half of their first class. By the time they were finished, Glinda felt completely liberated. She now had another, more rational head able to examine the precarious situations. Elphaba now understood her, or at least understood her as well as one might hope… and she was finally free from all the restricting barriers of lies, half-truths, and pretence.

Perhaps this would not be as hard as she had thought.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter!** You all broke one of my personal records- 33 reviews for one chapter! Aaargghh I love hearing from you all.

Special thanks to **QuinSeparable**, **Embers of Twilight**, **wolfdream**, **Valieara**, **Hermione781**, **Love That Wicked**, **lotrelves**, **TheWickedWitchOfOz**, **Pearl127**, **Da Bao**, **CSIBradley**, **StevenQ**, **LostOzian**, **fermataoso**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **broadwaylover07**, **Lady Tiggular**, **Curlycurlz**, **ChristineThePirateQueen**, **sung-****me**, **MoonlitInuko**, **Flippernino**, **musicfan1207**, **darkruki008**, **Digimon Empress Yaten**, **yerosmyhero**, **Sparky Heffely**, **Eowyn-Faith**, **pinkpalace77**, **RachelAe**, **Opapea**, **Lunie.B**, and last, but certainly not least, **Faba**.


	11. In Good Stead

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the delay in the posting of this chapter, but I'm not sorry for the reason xD. Drama's so much fun, I don't know how I lived without it before :D.

My eternal thanks go to my readers, my reviewers, my friends, and my betas, **Sparky Heffely** and **Dyani**. You guys rock :)

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.  
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**In Good Stead **

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If anyone noticed that Elphaba and Glinda seemed more at ease with each other in the next few months, it went unmentioned. Times were changing, slipping away at a growing rate, each day flying by now that she didn't have to worry about keeping her stories straight, about false pretences. It was liberating, the truth, even if at the same time it was equally damning.

Lurlinemas arrived and passed uneventfully. The five friends had spent it at Shiz, Glinda, Boq, and Nessarose unwilling to go home, Elphaba and Fiyero uninvited. It was better, anyway, Glinda assumed: the holidays should be spent with people that one loves. Glinda wouldn't know how to act should she have returned home.

It was the first class after winter break, now, and no one was eager to start classes again, Glinda especially: she was not looking forward to dealing with Morrible again after two blissful weeks without sorcery.

Snow was falling lazily outside, covering the ground with frozen crystals, adding to the gloom of the situation. Now the students were not only stuck in classes, but stuck in classes whilst the beauty of the grounds beckoned to them.

Chance was cruel, setting up for a torturous first day back for Glinda: history, lunch, literature, and then sorcery. It wasn't as though she particularly despised any of the classes she had to attend (well, with the sole exception of sorcery), but the combination of the three made for a rather dull, long day.

History was first, and no one, even Elphaba, was up to the daunting task of paying attention for a full two hours while the snow was fluttering by the window. Doctor Dillamond must have realised his students' predicament, for only thirty minutes into the lesson, he sighed and flipped the blackboard over.

"Students, I'm sure we all have better things on our mind," he began, drawing a few of them from their dazing, "but unfortunately we must get through this lesson. Your end-of-term tests are coming up sooner than you think."

That succeeded in drawing their attention, and the class as a whole let out a groan.

"Yes, yes," Dillamond said, a hint of amusement seeping into his tone. "A regrettable turn of events, I'm sure. Now, can we please try and focus on the lesson?"

They did, reluctantly.

Even lunch, when most students usually seemed to relax between classes and catch up with their friends, was painful. The atmosphere was tense and quiet, similar to the deep breath before a startling revelation. They all seemed to notice it, too: Nessa, usually the chattiest, spent the entire lunch period fiddling with the edge of her sleeve, not meeting the others' gazes. Fiyero was similarly quiet, poking at his food half-heartedly every now and then before stealing a glance at Glinda and Elphaba, seated across for him. Boq was staring off into space, and Elphaba and Glinda kept glancing at one another uneasily. Was it just the snow and the usual sluggishness that came with returning from a break that was so destabilising? She hoped so.

Literature was fairly boring, as usual. They spent the better part of two hours analysing the Oziad and the techniques used in the epic novel to depict the illustrious and- as Elphaba kept complaining- far overused battle between good and evil, right and wrong, morality and immorality. Glinda couldn't pay attention. It was a load of junk, anyway. What good was analysing symbols, diction, syntax, and the like for conflicts between good and evil when she was caught in a physical manifestation of it? What good was looking at the author's word choice when she cared far more for Morrible's? She didn't really see the point of wasting her life away, looking at passages from some historical rite or famous book when she could barely determine where her life was going now.

It was overwhelming.

She was nearly ready to give up, to wave the white flag of surrender, to pull an Elphaba and ditch school, anything to escape the monotonous routine of learning pointless things when sorcery arrived. _As if I need another reason to go out of my mind_, she thought sardonically. To make things worse, Elphaba had become sick during Literature and had begged off to the clinic. So now Glinda would have to deal with Morrible on her own.

_Just another day living on borrowed time_.

She arrived at Morrible's seminar a few minutes early and paced back and forth, trying to calm her frazzled nerves down. She was so sick of this charade, the false pretence of being a good little student to Morrible when all she wanted to do was wring the filthy woman's neck, to scream all her frustrations at her-

Morrible entered, cutting her thoughts off. The older woman looked around for a moment or two, a brief glimpse of satisfaction taking over her surprise before she covered her expression once more. "Why, Miss Upland. Where is your roommate?"

"Elphaba is in the infirmary, Madame," Glinda said, stopping her tireless pacing and collapsing onto a bench. They might as well get the lesson over with. The sooner she could leave and get some rest, the better.

"That's terrible," Morrible said with a sickly simper. "I do hope she's all right." She shook her head forcefully and made to sit at the front desk, pausing halfway there. "I trust your break was satisfactory?"

"Yes, Madame," Glinda replied, feeling more and more like a living doll. Was she forever condemned to be a plaything of society, nodding her acquiescence to every little thing, never showing discontent or dissatisfaction?

Morrible nodded absent-mindedly. "That's good," she murmured. She sat down at the front, rustled a few papers, and picked up an envelope, pausing in her moving about. "Of course," she whispered, the noise barely carrying to Glinda's ears. "Well," she announced then, raising her voice so Glinda could hear her, "I'm afraid we don't need to continue with our lesson today after all. I needed to speak with Miss Thropp mostly, and it seems I've done everything I can to help you magically."

"Madame?" Glinda asked, confused as to what she meant. "Surely there is something I can improve on."

Morrible waved a hand airily. "No, no, we're through. In fact, I suspect we might not have any more seminars whatsoever. That is, if Miss Thropp chooses to accept this." She gestured to the letter she held with her other hand, and Glinda's blood ran cold.

_Could it…?_ "Madame?" she asked shakily, hoping her nervousness didn't show.

It did, apparently, or Morrible must have detected something else that made a small, callous smile appear. "Oh, I suppose I could let you know. You could pass the letter onto her, after all." She leaned forward, as if divulging a large secret. "The Wizard has asked Miss Thropp to meet him, in person, for the chance to become his Vizier."

Glinda felt as though she were going to throw up as memories barraged her once more.

"_If you do something for him, he will do much for you."_

"_I hope you're happy!"_

"_It's not her! I'm the one you want! It's me!"_

"No…" The word slipped past her lips involuntarily, and she inwardly winced. However, Morrible did not seem to hear it, for her smile merely continued, unfazed. "Isn't this wonderful news, Miss Upland?"

"Wonderful," Glinda repeated, hating the sour taste the word left in her mouth.

Morrible made a small 'tut' noise, shaking her head almost invisibly. "Come now, Galinda, dear. Surely you should be happier for your friend?" Her stare challenged Glinda, daring her to speak out against the Wizard.

"Of course I'm happy for her, Madame," Glinda insisted, adding a half-curtsy to add to the image of demureness. "Would you like me to inform her for you?"

Morrible smirked, a hollow edge making her smile seem more dangerous than normal. "I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you, Glinda? Inform her if you must, but breathe a word to convince her anything other than the fact that this is a wonderful opportunity, and I promise you'll regret it."

Glinda couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She was pinned to the spot in a mixture of terror, exhilaration, anger, and defiance. "Why would I say anything against the Wizard?" she inquired. This was a rather dangerous game to be playing, she realised, but another part of her was surprised to find out she didn't care. Reckless or not, she abandoned all thoughts of secrecy and added, "And my name's Galinda, in case you forgot." In order to retain some semblance of respect, she cast her eyes downward, focusing on her feet.

The sound of the lock sliding into place made shivers crawl up and down Glinda's spine. She cast a wary glance towards Morrible once more, watching as her headmistress's hand fell down and back into her lap.

Morrible stood up, her grin now toothy and definitely predatory. Apparently she had decided to abandon pretences as well. "Well, dearie, perhaps it seems both of us were mistaken."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Glinda said, tilting her chin up to stare at her headmistress. _Think of Elphaba_, she thought to herself, trying to keep her pulse down. _Think of how strong she would be if she were in your position. You can't let them down._

"You thought you were the only one who could change your future, didn't you?" Morrible asked before chuckling. "And here I was, thinking you wouldn't be stupid enough to let your guard down."

Surely her blood must be ice now, for Glinda felt colder than she could ever recollect. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean, Madame," Glinda said softly, her brain moving far slower than she would've hoped. Was Morrible bluffing, or-?

"Don't be ridiculous, Glinda. You've been painfully obvious since the first day of term. I had no doubts whatsoever that the spell had worked." Morrible scoffed, moving down from the platform to pace the floor loudly, her heels clacking painfully with each step. "Befriending Elphaba," she spat the girl's name out horribly, "right off the bat, turning down the stupid little prince when he went after you, claiming visions, becoming more and more of a model student. Did you think no one would notice how radical of a change you had gone through?"

Glinda could feel a sob working its way up, but she refused to let it loose. "You know?" she finally managed to say. "You knew all this time?"

Morrible shrieked with laughter. "Of course I knew, you blathering idiot!" She stopped pacing and advanced on Glinda, her eyes becoming wilder with each word. "Did you think you arrived back here on accident? Did you think that everything, from the fact that I contacted you on the Witch's death day, to the Tin Man revealing who he was, to you arriving at Shiz was coincidence?! If you did, you're far less clever than I gave you credit for."

Glinda felt as though she were going to be sick. "It was you," she said, her hands shaking violently. "You're why I'm back here. And you've known this whole time… you've let me think I could change things even while you were actively plotting against me?"

Morrible grinned. "Give the girl a prize; she managed to figure one thing out!"

She couldn't take it any more. Glinda stood up and began pacing, herself, unable to go and somehow unwilling to leave, yet definitely loath to stay in Morrible's presence. Information was addicting, she concluded with finality. "Why?" she spat out, clutching the wall with a hand to steady herself.

"Why what?"

"Why would you send me back, too, if I were just going to try and stop you?"

Morrible cackled gleefully. "If you honestly think you by yourself could stop me and the Wizard combined, you're far more arrogant than I thought." She shook her head. "No, Glinda the _Good_. I sent you back because I had to in order to send myself back."

Glinda sobbed, unable to choke back the lump in her throat any longer, ignoring the jeer that Morrible emitted at the sound. "Was it not good enough for you? Did you not care that you won, that Elphaba was dead?"

Morrible's expression turned sour. "At that one thing, you were right. I hadn't won. The stupid Thropp brat was dead, but I was still imprisoned, and you were on the throne. This was the only way I could think of to get what I wanted."

_You're getting what you wanted._

Glinda calmed her breathing down and wiped away the few errant tears. "Why are you telling me this?" she whispered finally. "Why are you exposing yourself?"

Morrible bit her lip in an attempt to compose herself. "Because, dearie," she said, using the affectation that annoyed Glinda the most, "I know you wouldn't be stupid enough to expose yourself to Elphaba in an attempt to help her."

Glinda dared not look at her for fear that she would give herself away. "And if I do?" she said lowly.

"Then you should also know that I hold more power than you do, and it would be far too easy to eliminate you both from the picture altogether."

So what was she saying about word choice? "Eliminate?" Glinda repeated hollowly.

"In the political manner of speaking, of course," Morrible said with a smirk. "Though I'm sure if that wasn't sufficient I could arrange for a more… definite interpretation of the word to be executed."

And there it was again, the odd word choice. Executed. Perhaps Literature could relate to her life more than she could have anticipated.

She nodded, hating herself for having to submit to the old bat of a woman once again. "I'll take the letter to Elphaba," she said finally, biting her tongue to prevent her from saying anything else.

Morrible bobbed her head, a superior smirk spreading across her face again, her wrinkles becoming oddly outlined to create an altogether eerie picture of domination. "See to it that she gets it, and that she hears nothing else about the Wizard."

Glinda nodded again.

A voice flared in her head as she left the room, letter clutched in hand, sounding eerily realistic, the memory no longer dulled by time. _I hope you're proud how you would grovel in submission to feed your own ambition_.

_It's different_, she told herself firmly. _I'm doing this for Elphaba, for Nessa, for Fiyero, for Boq… for all of us, not for me._

Then why did she feel like she had failed Elphaba all over again?

* * *

Don't expect another update for a while :). I'm going to NYC over spring break, so I may write on the way up there and back, but other than that... can't promise when the next update will be!

Special thanks go to **Digimon Empress Yaten**, **Da Bao**, **Love That Wicked**, **darkruki008**, **Pearl127**, **ennaxor**, **LostOzian**, **fermataoso**, **wolfdream**, **musicfan1207**, **yerosmyhero**, **broadwaylover07**, **ElphabaTheDelirious117**, **Eowyn-Faith**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **muffin**, **Embers of Twilight**, **Lunie.B**, **NastElilBuggr**, **Lady Tiggular**, **MoonlitInuko**, **RachelAe**, **Salena**, **firestorm13**, **Valieara**, **Faba**, and **QuinSeparable**. Your reviews are like a fix for an addict going through withdrawal . ...Okay, bad metaphor, but you get the point xP.


	12. One Good Deed

**A/N:** I managed to finish this one this weekend, thanks to my lovely betas and their help :). Give both of them a round of applause.

Thanks for your continued support!

_Rofl I'm running out of chapter name ideas. Love to those who give me phrases with 'good' in them :D?_

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.  
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**One Good Deed**

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Glinda made her way back to the dormitory in a daze, unable to concentrate on anything but Morrible's words ringing through her head and the letter gripped in her hand. How could she have missed all the signs? How in the world was she to manage this?

If she gave the letter to Elphaba, one of two things could happen: Elphaba, knowing all that she did, could simply refuse, and that would lead to a great deal of horrible things once Morrible realised that Glinda had told Elphaba. Or, Elphaba could accept the letter. But would she be content to be a pawn? Knowing her, the answer was most likely no, Glinda thought with a sigh. She couldn't do this. She couldn't let fate play out like it had before while sitting back powerless and unable to stop anything.

But it wasn't as though she could hide the letter from Elphaba- she'd eventually find out.

For several brief seconds, Glinda regretted divulging any information to Elphaba at all. She knew Elphaba could be trusted, but this was merely complicating things. She wished, more than anything, that she had someone else who could look at the situation more rationally, someone who wasn't as emotionally involved.

She'd just have to manage it on her own. For now, at least.

When she opened the door, she took a look at the empty room with a mixture of relief and disappointment. Now at least she would be able to figure out what she was going to do about the letter. However, part of her selfishly wished Elphaba was there: if she could see how distressed Glinda was, it might help convince Glinda to confess everything that happened and ask her much wiser friend what to do.

In order to take her mind off the day's events, she started cleaning the small dorm absent-mindedly, folding up dresses and clothes here and putting stray books on the shelf there. It was one thing she had never gotten used to doing before moving to the palace: doing simple tasks that required no thinking to get her mind off of things. It was rather pointless, anyway, for once she had acquired enough maturity to get past the mindset that cleaning was for servants, she moved to the palace where servants did do that work for her, whether she liked it or not.

When the room was relatively clean and nothing else could distract her from the imminent issue anymore, she sat down on her bed, reaching for the envelope that was causing so much stress. She merely sat there for a long time, fiddling with the envelope, staring at the seal. It was menacing in its own way, a big W in the centre of entwining rods of emerald. Finally she gave up, placing it on her bed stand with a sigh and lying down.

The day had taken its toll on her, for she had barely remembered hitting the pillow before darkness overtook her. The emerald crest seemed permanently embedded in her mind, tormenting her even in sleep, gleaming and twisting into menacing emerald prison bars before swallowing her up.

She woke up fairly early, her eyes protesting against the light filtering through the half-opened curtains and bathed in a thin sheen of sweat. She lay there for a few moments, calming herself down, only sitting up upon hearing a skittering noise and a whispered swear. Upon sitting up, Elphaba came into view; her friend was moving rather slowly, and had apparently dropped a heavy fountain pen only to have it roll under her bed.

"Elphaba?" Glinda inquired, rather pointlessly.

Elphaba's head shot up and offered her roommate an apologetic smile. "Sorry if I woke you up," she said before reaching down to snatch the pen up.

Glinda waved her hand dismissively. "Not a big deal." A few moments passed in which the previous day's events caught up to her like a three-ton weight. She slumped back down again. "Are you feeling better?"

Elphaba nodded, still seeming rather absent-minded. "It was something I ate, the nurse told me. I came back from the infirmary late last night; you were already sleeping." A hesitant look swept across her face. "How was sorcery?"

Instinctively, Glinda turned her head a notch, the green envelope coming to view, laying innocently on her bed stand. "Fine," she lied. "I didn't really learn anything, so you have nothing to catch up on."

Elphaba frowned. "Then what did you do the entire two hours?"

"We talked." It wasn't a lie.

Her furrowed eyebrows gave her disbelief away, but she didn't call her friend out on her bluff. "All right."

Glinda sighed, trying to decide what to do. She knew she'd have to give the letter to Elphaba sooner or later; Morrible would ensure the former, she assumed, and putting it off wouldn't help much. "You have a letter," she mumbled finally, standing up and handing the envelope to her roommate.

Elphaba frowned, taking in the colour. "Who is it from?" she asked, still not accepting it, and looking at it rather warily, as though it were poison.

"The Wizard," Glinda said, trying to dispel any lingering discomfort.

Elphaba blanched. "He wants to meet me?"

Glinda nodded. "I assume so."

Her roommate looked excited for a fraction of a moment before a horrified look replaced it. "But… didn't you say the Wizard was the one…?"

"Yes," Glinda whispered wearily.

Elphaba set her jaw in a firm line. "Then I'm not going," she said, placing the envelope down again.

Glinda shook her head. "Then Morrible will know I told you something."

To her credit, Elphaba looked extremely confused. "But how would Morrible know you knew anything about the Wizard?" she trailed off in a moment of hesitation.

Glinda sat back down on her bed, collapsing into a heap and resting her head in her hands. "Because it seems that she's the reason I know these things in the first place."

It only took a moment for the implications of her explanation to fully hit Elphaba, and, upon doing so, the young woman stood up, looking positively aghast. "She's _what_?"

She could feel the tears coming on, and bit her lip to try and prevent them from falling. "She revealed it to me yesterday," Glinda whispered, her voice sounding raspy from her fitful sleep and sudden emotion.

"Does she know I know?" Elphaba inquired, also lowering her voice to a whisper out of instinct.

Glinda shook her head, chuckling disdainfully. "No, and I'd best keep it that way." At Elphaba's questioning look, she elaborated, "She has enough power, and she basically threatened me with 'eliminating' the two of us if I dared tell you."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "Eliminating?" she repeated, looking queasy.

Glinda laughed sardonically. "Her word choice, not mine."

Elphaba huffed impatiently. "So, what, I should just pretend to know nothing?"

Glinda paused for a beat, blinking back the tears that still threatened to fall, and responded. "It's the only thing I can think of." A few moments passed in which the sense of conflict evident in Elphaba's expression and actions grew. "Elphaba, she could destroy you."

All the discomfort, horror, and qualms that had been reflected in Elphaba's face suddenly disappeared, a look of utmost anger and determination replacing them. "So what, I should just sit back and pretend to know nothing? I should join together with a dictator and watch while he destroys everything I care about?" she spat angrily- though at whom the anger was directed, Glinda wasn't sure.

Feeling eons older than she had when she woke up, Glinda sighed. "And what else could you do?"

"I could fight back!" Elphaba said, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. "I did it before, obviously, so I can do it again."

Glinda stood up, fear and anger coursing through her as though they were adrenaline. "And don't you remember what I said happened? You_ died_."

Though a gleam of uncertainty shown in her eyes, Elphaba seemed no less determined. "Then I'll die again," she said stubbornly.

Glinda wasn't fazed. "Not if I have anything to say about it," she said, as determined as her friend.

Elphaba let out a breath in an overly showy fashion, seeming more and more irritated by the second. "And just who are you to tell me what I can and cannot stand up for?" she demanded. "Who are you to tell me I have to comply with a dictator?"

Glinda couldn't stand it anymore. She took a few irate steps forward so she was nearly nose-to-nose with her roommate. Or, rather, nose-to-chin, but Elphaba got the point. "I'm your _friend_, Elphaba," she snapped. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do; I'm just trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection," Elphaba retorted before moving to sit on her bed, crossing her arms to create an altogether childlike image.

"You do, Elphaba, whether you like to admit it or not," Glinda huffed, feeling her frustration leak away to be replaced with exhausted emotion. She also made to sit on her own bed and put her face in her hands, holding back the tears that had suddenly reappeared.

Elphaba snorted. "And what makes you the person to do that protecting? Just because you know of what happens doesn't mean you get the right to-"

"Elphaba, shut up!" Glinda yelled, cutting her off. "Please," she added in a softer voice once she had seen her friend's surprise. "I can't do this again. I can't just sit back and watch while you and everyone else I care about dies." The tears dripped down her face at her exclamation, and her voice was strangled with sobs.

"Galinda?" Elphaba seemed positively alarmed and uncomfortable. "I'm not going to die."

"If you go and defy the Wizard or gravity or whatever again, you probably will," Glinda insisted. "You have no idea what it was like, Elphaba. None." She heaved a shaky, shuddering sigh.

Elphaba got up, sat down next to her, and wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder in an awkward hug. The silence in the room was broken only by Glinda's sobs as they slowly dwindled away.

After a long time of just sitting there, Glinda finally broke away from her friend's embrace, sniffling as she reached for a box of tissues. She heard Elphaba's voice carry across the few feet before them and was shocked at how vulnerable and timid she sounded.

"What do I do?"

Glinda turned around and was further surprised at the tears forming in her friend's eyes. "I don't know," she whispered, shaking her head. "I don't know."

* * *

Frustrated and feeling altogether helpless, Elphaba left the room a while later after consoling her friend. She understood Galinda's point- she really did. However, it was beyond frustrating to have her friend tell her she shouldn't do this or should do that when she knew bloody well how much Elphaba hated submission, especially when it dealt with a controlling dictator and a scheming Headmistress.

She sighed as she rounded the corner, for the first time since Galinda's revelation a few months earlier wishing she didn't know anything about the Wizard. After all, didn't they say 'ignorance is bliss'? Then again, in some ways it would be far worse to find out the Wizard was a fraud after getting all excited to meet him.

Is this how Galinda felt all the time- torn between two different opinions? She didn't envy the girl for having to make such difficult decisions.

She was not in the mood to do homework, Elphaba realised with a grimace. And she really didn't feel like going back to talk with Galinda again, as much as she knew she would eventually have to. She wished she could go outside, but it was fairly cold out and her jacket was still back in the room. Seeing no other option she particularly wanted to choose, she decided to go to the library.

It was even quieter than usual and definitely deserted. Apparently being back at school for two days had not been enough time for teachers to assign any large projects, for Elphaba, upon entering, could see only two stragglers seated at tables. One of them, to her surprise, was Fiyero. Frowning, she walked over to the table, making little enough noise so that he wasn't startled by her sudden appearance.

"What are you doing in here on the second day of school?" she asked lightly, sitting down in the chair next to him. "Surely you haven't had enough time to procrastinate on a project yet."

He laughed, though it sounded a little strained. "No, I'm just researching something."

Elphaba glanced at the books scattered across the table and frowned. They all had titles that referred to tradition, culture, and monarchy. "Is everything all right?" she asked hesitantly, unsure as to whether she even wanted to know the answer.

The half-hearted smile that spread across his face as he tried to assuage her fears merely confirmed them. "Yeah, everything's fine."

Elphaba rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the mood. "Fiyero, I can tell when you're lying. Besides that, you have all these books-" here she gestured to the mounds of books lying on the table, "-about monarchies and tradition?"

He sighed, cradling his head with his hands. "My father's sick," he mumbled finally. "My mother sent a letter."

Elphaba bit her lip. She wasn't too good with consoling people, but she knew she had to do something to help. "He's going to be okay, Fiyero," she said, patting his shoulder awkwardly.

He looked up. "But what if he isn't? From what I gathered from the letter, it sounds serious." He shook his head wildly. "I'm not ready to inherit the throne if something goes wrong, Elphaba."

"You'll do what you must," she said, realising the same reasoning applied to her in the situation she faced.

He grimaced, but nodded his thanks. "Everything's just gotten so complicated recently."

Elphaba chuckled disdainfully. "Tell me about it."

Fiyero frowned at her tone, examining her face. "Is everything all right?"

She gave him a false smile, nodding. "Yeah, everything's great." She paused, hesitating, and then continued, "The Wizard sent for me. He wants to meet me."

Fiyero grinned- a real grin- then. "Elphaba, that's great!" he exclaimed, wrapping her in a hug.

She broke it off far too quickly, trying to ignore the pleasant tingles blazing across her skin where he had touched her. "Thanks," she mumbled. "I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, though."

"Why wouldn't you accept it?" Fiyero said, his confusion evident, quieting down after the librarian shot him a look.

Elphaba laughed, knowing she wouldn't be able to tell him the truth. "It's complicated," she finally said. A few moments passed in which she debated over whether to add something else before she finally gave in. "I'll miss you if I go, though. Er, I mean you and everyone else. You know what I mean." _Definitely should've kept my mouth shut_, she thought, wincing.

He grinned, though, apparently finding it amusing. "We'll miss you too, Elphaba," he said, reaching for her hand.

She couldn't help the smile that slowly spread across her face as their hands brushed. Feeling definitely not like herself, she said, "I'm not leaving yet."

Fiyero's grin only strengthened as he laced his fingers between hers. "Good."

* * *

My continued gratitude and all that goes along with it go to my reviewers. Thanks go to **Digimon Empress Yaten**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **Love That Wicked**, **musicfan1207**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **Lady Tiggular**, **Curlycurlz**, **broadwaylover07**, **Vicster'****s Jar of Dirt**, **Embers of Twilight**, **ennaxor**, **yerosmyhero**, **LostOzian**, **JamSack at ff**, **Defying Gravity 728** (remember, no hearts in reviews xP), **Kaylle**, and **Sale**.

I can't express how thankful I am for you all xD.


	13. Good Enough

**A/N: 300 reviews. You guys rock.** Mm, I'm sorry for the long wait in between chapters. Closing night of my musical is tonight (sniff) so I'll have more time to write. However, I got some pretty nasty grades this past quarter, so I may not be writing as much xD;.

Oh, and if you reviewed my April Fools' joke (kill me if you want, but that means I can't finish the story xP) and would still like to review this chapter, try an anonymous review. Thanks as always go to my lovely betas, **Dyani** and **Sparky Heffely**.

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.  
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**Good Enough**

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Elphaba snuck down the hallway later that night, pausing behind the conveniently-placed pillars as she checked for professors or other faculty who might be on sentry duty that night. Her mind buzzed from the adrenaline high that came with the heightened sense of alertness as a result of sneaking back to the dorm. She did not regret helping Fiyero research after she had finished with her classes, but she did wish they had been more aware of the time, for it was well past curfew now, and nothing appealed to her less at the moment than being caught and sent to Morrible.

Luckily, it seemed Fate was on her side.

She reached the relative safety of the girls' dormitory without a single problem, letting herself relax as she prepared herself to face Glinda. She hadn't really spoken to her friend since that morning, when she had received the letter. The letter.

Elphaba sighed as she opened the door to the room she and Glinda shared, wincing as Glinda shot up and ran over to her and hugged her tightly, quivering like a leaf in a violent storm.

"Galinda?" she asked, immediately worried. She drew back from her friend's embrace – an action that was admittedly difficult, considering the force of Glinda's hug had her nearly pressed up against the door.

Glinda took a few steps back, letting her roommate in further, and shook her head as she turned to slump onto her bed. "I was worried," she explained. "When you didn't come back after curfew, I thought that maybe Morrible had found out that I had told you, or something had happened…" she trailed off, but it was obvious that she was still very upset.

"I'm fine," Elphaba murmured as she reached for her friend's hand, stroking it absent-mindedly. She felt awful, now. "I was in the library." She hoped her friend would not notice the maddening blush that was creeping across her face.

It appeared that she did, for Glinda gave her an odd look; however, she said nothing.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you this morning," Elphaba continued after a few moments' pause. The argument had been plaguing her all day; she saw Glinda's point, and knew the girl was doing the best she could, but it had been so infuriating.

"It's nothing," Glinda said, waving it off. She hesitated, a wordless, internal battle playing across her face, but finally added, "But you do need to make a decision about what you'll do."

Elphaba fought down the bitter laughter she felt bubbling to the surface as the words she had said to Fiyero earlier reformed themselves on her lips. "I'll do what I must," she said, releasing her grip on her friend's hand, offering no other explanation.

"Elphaba?" Glinda's voice sounded small in the few metres that had formed themselves between the two. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," Elphaba said with a sigh as she started to ready herself for sleep. She looked around at the small room, taking in the way that their personal effects mingled in a haphazard, but oddly right, way. She wished college could go on forever. She selfishly wished she were like any other student, her only major problems her notes and classes. A faint, wistful tinge dulled the smile that suddenly formed. There was no going back now, she realised, no matter how hard she wished. Besides, since when had she been one to conform? "But I suppose this is it, isn't it?"

Glinda did not ask what she meant. "Yes, I suppose it is."

* * *

Morning arrived far too soon, and the hesitant sunlight that crept into the window found Glinda and Elphaba already arguing about what to do – and how they would do it.

"Focus, Elphaba!" Glinda said, grasping a handful of her unruly curls in frustration. "If you stammer or look nervous at all, she'll know something's up."

"It's not as easy as you think it is," Elphaba shot back, throwing the reviled green invitation across the room in a huff. "I'm handing myself to her on a damn platter, basically giving her control of my future, and you want me to be calm and obedient?" Elphaba sighed, feeling her anger be replaced by distress in the tense moments that followed her exclamation. "What are we doing?" she moaned, collapsing onto her bed.

Glinda sat down on the end of her own bed, picked up a brush, and began to idly brush out the tangles in her hair. "What do you mean?"

"We're just two students, Galinda," Elphaba explained. "Worse than that, we're two female students under Morrible. How in Oz do you think we would be able to overthrow the Wizard by ourselves?"

Glinda merely frowned, absentmindedly patting down the quilt next to her, playing with a loose thread. "We might not need to overthrow him," she said, sounding far-off, completely absorbed in her own thoughts.

Elphaba scoffed. "Yeah, because I'm sure a power hungry dictator would be happy to just abdicate if we asked him nicely."

Though she had become accustomed to Elphaba's sharp, sardonic remarks long ago, Glinda felt the slightest tinge of irritation. She was doing the best she could under such extreme circumstances, and her friend's sarcasm was certainly not helping anything. "I already told you that I think I know something to say that might help."

"What, 'pretty please with a cherry on top?' Face it, Galinda; this plan is hopeless."

The irritation and anger she had begun to feel ebbed away, the recognizable mixed feelings of doubt, anxiety, and guilt starting to creep up to replace them as her conscience began to ache. Should she tell Elphaba that the Wizard was her father…? She frowned, watching but not really listening as Elphaba ranted underneath her breath. No, now was not the time… she wasn't ready. _Is it Elphaba who is not ready, I wonder?_ a voice told her. She bit the inside of her cheek to quell her unease. "I'll do it," Glinda finally announced, drawing Elphaba from her tirade.

Elphaba blinked, her ranting and pacing sluggishly coming to a complete halt. "Do what?"

"Tell Morrible," Glinda elaborated.

A thin-lipped smile graced Elphaba's feature; the slightest hint of pity in the expression further stoked Glinda's frustration. "Galinda, no offense, but you're probably not much better at lying than I am."

Glinda laughed hollowly. "I've had plenty more practice at it, you forget. Lying to the public, your boyfriend, your superior, and yourself for years will give you that experience."

Elphaba grimaced, but made no move to contradict her again. "You're sure?" she murmured after a few seconds' breadth.

"Positive," Glinda said with a half-hearted smile. She just hoped she felt as positive once she found herself face-to-face with Morrible again.

* * *

_Click clack click._

Glinda winced as she walked down the hallway, feeling oddly self-conscious. Why hadn't she worn flats, or at least a pair of shoes that made less noise than these heels? _Click click click click clack._ Oh, she hated it when she was alone and wearing heels- it always made her feel ridiculously noisy and garish. Come to think of it, why was the hallway this empty? It wasn't so early in the morning that there should be no one up, but it wasn't nearly late enough for anyone to be in classes. She frowned.

The door to Morrible's office was drawing nearer with every hesitant step. Glinda sighed, gathered what courage had been slipping away with her superficial annoyance at the empty hall, gripped the letter in her hand tighter, and scurried down the remaining length of the corridor, a cringe accentuating each loud step.

The grey sunlight, filtered by storm clouds, streamed in through nearby windows, imprinting the large mahogany doors that led to Morrible's antechamber with streaks of shadow. It somehow didn't make the entrance to the lair of sorts any less foreboding. Nor did the ominous rolls of thunder overhead make her knock seem any quieter. The hoarse call of "Enter" from the stereotypical villain inside helped to complete the mood.

She sighed, a ghost of an ironic smile playing at her lips. Recently, it seemed as though her life was like a bad horror novel gone wrong.

Glinda opened the door cautiously, whatever remnants of a smile disappearing, and announced her presence with a quick greeting. "I'm sorry to bother you, Madame," she said, "but I have-"

There was no need to continue: Morrible, only a few metres away, had seen the envelope in her fist. "Ah, so our Miss Elphaba has made a decision?"

Glinda nodded, feeling the bile rise to her throat. It wouldn't take much acting to get her anger across. "Yes." She handed the letter out, repressing the quiver that threatened to undo whatever illusion of strength she'd managed to build up. "She accepted." Glinda looked down at her feet then, feeling horribly exposed with Morrible's beetle eyes boring into her.

"Excellent," Morrible said with a smarmy grin. "Isn't this good news, Glinda?" she asked, a mocking tone highly evident in her sickly-sweet charade.

Glinda bit her cheek, wanting nothing more than to strangle the woman where she stood. Just when she thought she could hate Morrible no more, the old bat spoke again. "Wonderful."

Morrible chuckled, apparently amused with Glinda's moral dilemmas. "Oh, I shan't take up any more of your time," she said, waving the envelope in front of Glinda nonchalantly. "Off to breakfast now; scurry!"

Glinda didn't need to be told twice to leave.

She arrived in the canteen a while later, grateful that the rest of her way there had been relatively uneventful. She was greeted with the rather familiar scene of her friends at breakfast. Nessarose was pursing her lips at something Elphaba had said (though Glinda was sure she saw a glimmer of a suppressed smile in the younger Thropp's apparent disapproval), Boq was sitting back, enjoying the sisters' banter, and Fiyero was- as always- shovelling down food at an alarming rate. Glinda collapsed into the empty seat across from Elphaba and began buttering a piece of toast, determined to keep her mind off Morrible.

Elphaba sent her a questioning look, to which Glinda replied with a weak smile and a nod.

Boq picked up on the silent communication. "Is everything all right?" he asked, a nervous undertone making his otherwise offhand question seem edgy.

Glinda nodded, flashing him a quick smile before biting into her toast. What were she and Elphaba going to tell them when it came time for them to go up against Morrible and the Wizard?

Elphaba's gaze met hers once more. The apprehension, resignation, and fear she saw reflected in her friend's eyes made Glinda feel completely exposed, threatening to undo all her composure even as she was surrounded by her unaware other friends. Elphaba was never frightened. How could they do this?

* * *

"No. We can't."

Elphaba sighed. "Galinda, we have to."

Glinda raised an eyebrow in a well-practiced movement from years past. "And why is that?"

"Morrible," Elphaba said simply.

Glinda bit a disbelieving smile back. Her incredulity must have shown, for Elphaba gave her a look that dared her to say otherwise. Glinda finally sighed. "Morrible is exactly why we can't tell them," she said, feeling as though she were far, far too old to be in a college dormitory at that moment.

Elphaba shook her head. "We have to," she repeated. "Think about it: what if something happens and we fail? You said that last time I defied the Wizard and he spread rumours that I was wicked so no one would trust me. If Morrible finds out I know, she won't hesitate to make both of us enemies and no one would be able to stand up to the Wizard. We'd both be goners."

"Absolutely not," Glinda hissed, panic setting in at Elphaba's cool tone with which she discussed their possible failure. "Elphaba, I can't make that decision for them. I can't put that burden on them."

"But you could for me?" The words were simple, and it was obvious Elphaba had uttered them solely to make a point. However, in the ironic tone the slightest tinge of venom lingered, if only by accident or instinct- only a drop or two, but it was enough to poison the room, and the common feeling of unity, the realisation that they were both in this (whatever _this_ was) together, whether they liked it or not, momentarily evaporated.

The silence that that question wrought was horrible, thick with frustration, apprehension, irritation, fear, and an underlying note of pungent bitterness. "I'm sorry," Glinda whispered after several long, agonising moments, her throat tight with guilt. "I just thought that-"

"No," Elphaba interrupted, looking as guilty as Glinda felt. "I didn't mean it like that, and I really shouldn't have said that." A few seconds passed before she spoke again. "I'm sorry, Glinda; I know you're doing what you think is best," she murmured.

Glinda felt tears prick at her eyes- it was the first time Elphaba had called her 'Glinda' without a trace of awkwardness, betrayal, or jest in her tone, and somehow it solidified the moment, the unified feeling returning to the room. After all, they were in this together, the best of friends until the bitter end.

The slight accomplishment she felt over having overcome their differences was short-lived, however; the problem still had not been solved. Could she tell them?

Could she tell Fiyero that their past versions had once been engaged in a one-sided relationship? Could she calmly tell him that he had pined after Elphaba for years and then one night they ran off together? Could she then reveal that he died defending her so cruelly soon afterwards?

Could she tell Nessarose that she had used her, a conveniently placed girl to pawn an annoyance off on? Could she tell her that she had finally been in love- and Glinda had known the entire time Boq didn't return her feelings? Could she tell her she ended up cruel and heartless, a dictator in an attempt to gain some semblance of control over her life?

Could she tell poor, sweet Boq that she never even took the time to learn his name? Could she tell him that she did nothing about the enslavement of him and his people? Could she tell him what he had turned into, an unthinking, unfeeling, cold imitation of a man who helped to kill Elphaba?

Could she crush their dreams and hopes for the future, instead revealing the horrible truths she was tormented by every night? Could she place that burden on them simply to ease her own conscience and write it off as a casualty of the war against the Wizard and Morrible? …The question suddenly did not seem as if it were 'could' but more of a 'how'. How could she live with herself?

She had never felt like more helpless than she did in this moment, she realised as she buried her face into her shaking hands, trying to quell the torrent of tears she felt coming on. The bed creaked beside her as Elphaba sat down and wordlessly wrapped her arms around her friend, holding her as Glinda finally let go of her inhibitions, hugged her friend back with all her might, and cried.

* * *

Thank you so so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter (and the "chapter" that was here xD). My continued love goes to **Sparky Heffely**, **Digimon Empress Yaten**, **Pearl127**, **Eowyn-Faith**, **ennaxor**, **LostOzian**, **broadwaylover07**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **yerosmyhero**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **JavaPoodle**, **Bomba-Fae**, **Western Arawen**, **HaChosenOne**, **Lady Tiggular**, **Embers of Twilight**, **Sale**, **Scarecrow16**, **ElphabaTheDelirious117**, **MoonlitInuko**, **musicfan1207**, **Sorry to burst your bubble**, **angel718**, **Faba**, **Curlycurlz**, **hprentwickedfangurl**, **RachelAe**, **hydraspit**, and **bloodymary2** for all their loving support.

My apologies to **pokey**, **Lady Tiggular**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **LostOzian**, **musicfan1207**, **broadwaylover07**, **Curlycurlz**, **QuinSeparable**, **DefiGraviti**, **Digimon Empress Yaten**, **dust**-**princess**, **ennaxor**, **Kennedy Leigh ****Morgan**, **yerosmyhero**, **Sale**, **jo man**, and anyone else who fell for/was upset by the cruel April Fools' joke xP.

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	14. In Good Faith

**A/N:** Taadaa? :D Sorry the wait was so long, guys, honestly. To be quite frank, though, I've become disenchanted with fanfiction (especially Wicked) in general. This is most likely my last story in the Wicked section, besides perhaps the occasional drabble or oneshot. You guys are _**amazing**_, don't get me wrong. I'm just kind of getting tired of it. I will continue For Good, though!

Thanks again to my lovely betas, as always. You guys are great.

I apologise in advance for this chapter: it's shorter and worse than usual, but hey, it's a chapter, right? I can't promise when my next update will be (I'm taking 7 IB classes this year... gag me.)

Guess what? As of today, this story is one. year. old. _**Thank you so, so, so much to everyone who's stuck with me this past year.**_ This one's for you.

**Note: **Sorry if you got two emails for this one; I went to edit properties and accidentally deleted the chapter instead of overriding it ».»

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**Updated 1/10/09 for formatting.**

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**In Good Faith**

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Twilight had arrived, bringing heavy air and a sky crowned with clouds with it, the sky brimming with the threat of an overnight blizzard.

"I can't see the stars," Boq commented absently, peering out from the frost-framed window in Glinda and Elphaba's dorm. He drew back before rubbing the pane for a moment, allowing some of the condensation to drip off, and tried again. "It looks like we're in for a nice storm tonight."

"Yes," Elphaba replied, equally absent-mindedly as she quietly closed the door and drew the lock.

"Elphaba!" Nessa gasped, trying to wheel her chair back toward the door. "You know we're not supposed to close the door with boys in the dorm, especially lock it!"

Elphaba threw her a scathing look. "Honestly, Nessa, this is important."

They were gathered in the girls' dorm room so Glinda could explain the predicament to them, and both Glinda and Elphaba were completely on edge. What if they didn't believe her… or worse?

Glinda frowned. "It is important, Nessa. Anyhow, if it makes you feel better, it's not as if anyone in here is dating one another."

The long silence that followed her statement threw her somewhat; that, coupled with the incriminating blush brushing Fiyero's cheeks and Elphaba's fidgeting hands, helped her put two and two together, realisation dawning in a breathless, excited, crushed, helpless moment. "Elphaba?" she asked, amazed and hurt that her friend hadn't told her. Then again, she really shouldn't be upset that someone was keeping a secret from her, given the circumstances.

…Still, it smarted somewhat.

Elphaba slowly met Glinda's gaze, the apologetic look slowly turning to one of defiance. "Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked with a small explanatory nod towards Fiyero, her voice sounding far meeker than she would've liked.

Elphaba sighed and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "The truth?" She uncrossed her arms as she sat down on her bed, looking lost. "I wanted something you didn't have to tell me to do." After an unusually large silence reigned, she continued with another sigh. "I know why you told me, honestly, Glinda, I do. It's just… I hate that you know everything, it's like…" She trailed off and threw her hands in the air. "It's like none of my choices matter," she said finally, "since obviously things pan out the same way anyway."

Glinda bit her lip, trying to rid herself of the silly lump in her throat. This wasn't worth getting upset over. She finally gave up on trying to form words and just gave Elphaba a wry smile and pursed her lips.

Elphaba's frown faltered. "What?"

Glinda laughed bitterly. "Let's just say I saw this one coming, too."

Another pregnant pause soured the air. "You mean…?" Elphaba trailed off in understanding. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I figured it wasn't something you wanted forced on you like that," Glinda explained.

"Not to be a bother or anything," Fiyero drawled, interrupting the two from their spat, "but what in Oz is going on?"

Glinda let her gaze slip from Elphaba's as she faced her other three very confused friends. "We need to talk," she mumbled meekly.

The look they exchanged was somewhat disconcerting- it, along with the melancholy half-smile on Boq's face, was uncannily understanding, as if they had expected her to say something on that vein.

A frown spread across the blonde's face. "What?"

Nessa made a small 'tuh' noise, the smile she was obviously trying to form resembling something more alike to a grimace than anything else, before speaking up. "We may not be the sharpest tacks in the box-"

"Especially Fiyero," interrupted Boq with a half-hearted grin, ignoring the vehement response Fiyero gave.

"- but we're not blind," Nessa continued, giving Boq a pointed look that immediately shut him up. "It was evident from the beginning that you weren't telling us everything. When we all became friends, it only became more obvious: offhand remarks, careless glances, arguments with Elphaba that no one but the two of you could understand…"

Glinda bit her lip. "I suppose I wasn't as careful as I thought," she said finally, offering them an apologetic smile and a nod.

"No, I don't believe so," Nessa said, pursing her lips into a strained smile. "Does this… impromptu gathering," she said delicately, "mean you're planning on telling us whatever this secret is?"

After a feeble glance with Elphaba, Glinda nodded. "Yes, but you all have to understand a few things. First and foremost, this is important. I'm neither exaggerating nor joking when I say that, too," she stressed with a serious look towards each of them. "It's- quite literally- a matter of life and death." She stopped for a moment, taking in a deep breath before confessing, "I really wish I didn't have to tell you all- not because I don't want you to know," she added quickly upon seeing the hurt that briefly crossed their faces, "but because… well, it's a burden." She chanced a glance at Elphaba, but the other girl's face was impassive, unreadable.

"What in Oz, Galinda?" Fiyero asked weakly. "You sound like you're in trouble with the government or something equally insane."

Instinctually, Glinda's gaze snapped to Elphaba's, and was pleased to see she was also fighting back laughter. "Ironically enough," she replied, her voice sounding strained to even her own ears, "you're nearly spot on."

Elphaba's resolve shattered and she burst into laughter, Glinda joining her not long after. The mad fit of laughter shattered some of the tenseness in the room, yet their friends were staring at them as if they had gone insane- which was, she admitted, a valid question, especially given the circumstances.

"You're joking, right?" Boq said once they had calmed down a bit.

All traces of their laughter disappeared, the atmosphere dulling again. "Unfortunately, no."

Elphaba sighed. "Perhaps you'd better explain."

--

"I'm still not sure whether they believed you or not," Elphaba mused once the others had gone.

Glinda looked up from the pillow that she had been burying her head in. Elphaba was definitely something else. The eraser of her pencil was slowly being mutilated as she rolled it absent-mindedly between her teeth between words. Books were scattered hither and thither across the quilt, and various wads of paper were balancing precariously at the top of the pile in the trash can. Oddly, though, her roommate looked completely at peace, apart from the slight frown creasing her features. "I'm just glad it's over with," she admitted lightly.

"I don't think I've ever seen Boq so pale," Elphaba continued, rolling over to lie on her back.

Glinda grimaced and flopped back down onto the pillow. "Nor Nessa at such a loss for words."

Elphaba snorted. "You're telling me. I've lived with her my whole life and not once has she been able to sit there as quietly. At least, not without shooting some supercilious glare in my general direction."

"She's not so bad," Glinda disagreed. Sure, the younger Thropp could be haughty, but she meant well (for the most part) and could be a genuinely sweet girl.

"No," Elphaba conceded with a grudging nod. "She's much better than she used to be. College has mellowed her out a bit."

"Fiyero took it surprisingly well," Glinda said, changing the subject abruptly, hoping to steer the subject away from Nessa. She didn't want to upset Elphaba at all, and she knew her family was a touchy subject.

Elphaba snorted. "Well, honestly, I think he was in shock more than anything. But yes," she added with a sigh, "I think he looked at it a little more rationally than the other two."

Glinda's eyebrow shot up. "Fiyero, rational?" she repeated with a small giggle.

"True, but you know what I mean." Elphaba paused for a moment to collect her books and pens and place them on the nightstand by her bed. She appeared completely calm, but Glinda saw the slight worrying of hands that alerted her to Elphaba's sudden nervousness. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked a moment later in a soft voice, confirming Glinda's suspicions.

Oz, her lip was getting sore from her constant biting. "I thought it was something you shouldn't feel as though you had to do. Or rather, something you thought you shouldn't do, if only because I knew, if that makes any sense," Glinda rambled in explanation.

Elphaba's response was a heavy sigh as she massaged the bridge of her nose tensely. "I understand. It's just… frustrating."

"I know," Glinda whispered, her conscience wearing on her horribly.

Elphaba fixed her with a piercing glare a few moments later. "Is there anything else you haven't told me? I don't care whether you think I should or shouldn't know," she added impatiently once Glinda opened her mouth. Silence reigned. "I want to know," she whispered. "After everything, I deserve that."

Damn, Glinda thought, trying to swallow past the lump in her throat. "You're not going to like it," she warned her friend.

"I don't care."

Oh, Lurline. She was going to break her friend's heart. How in Oz was she supposed to say this? Aware of Elphaba's stare, she leapt up from the bed and started pacing back and forth.

"Frex isn't your father," she finally blurted.

Elphaba's eyebrows shot up, skirting on the brim of her hairline. "Oh? Who?" she asked, doubt, curiosity, dread, and _hope_ in her tone.

Glinda couldn't speak. She felt as though she were going to be sick as she simply looked at her friend, hoping the twisted, painful expression she wore would be enough for her to figure it out.

It was, apparently. Elphaba sat up as straight as if someone had suddenly glued her spine to a stake. "No," she whispered, the horrible, disgusted, horrified tone causing Glinda's forming tears to spill over.

"Elphie, I'm so sorry," she cried, running to clutch desperately to her friend as she had done only that afternoon (how it seemed like ages ago, now), but Elphaba drew back, horrified.

"He's my father? When… How-… Why?" She finally managed to articulate her emotions, shaking furiously. "Why in _Oz_ would you not tell me, Glinda?"

"I'm sorry," she answered, sobbing. "I'm sorry, really, I am. I just… didn't know how to tell you."

"So when were you planning to tell me?" Elphaba raved. Her eyes were so cold, and yet blazing with anger and disgust at the same time. It was a cruel similarity to the last time she'd seen Boq as the Tin Man, she realised.

Irony loved her.

"I don't know."

Elphaba gave her a betrayed look before running to the bathroom.

--

She felt like she was going to be sick. No, scratch that, she was going to be sick.

Elphaba had barely enough time to race into the empty bathroom before she heaved her stomach out in the wastebasket by the sink. How could she? Even as the words flitted through her mind, she wasn't sure which 'she' she was referring to. Was it Glinda for keeping this from her, or her mother for straying in the first place? Another wave of nausea hit her and she doubled over, clutching her stomach as hot, angry tears began to slip down her face.

A dull pain registered once she had straightened herself and, trembling, she unclenched the fists she hadn't realised had formed. Her nails had bit into the tender skin of her palm, leaving ragged marks in their wake. The tears running down her cheeks dwindled as she stared at the crescent-shaped cuts in mingled fascination and horror. A droplet of blood slid down her palm and, upon reaching the forearm, glided down swiftly, the deep red in stark contrast with the pale green. The sight was too much to bear.

Nearly tripping over herself in her hurry to stand up, she thrust her arm under the faucet and turned it on, the water pouring out in a harsh stream that rid her hands of all blood. Her sobs restarted, having gained fresh fuel, and she began vigorously rubbing her hands and arms with anything she could find – a washcloth, Glinda's poufy bath net, a half-bar of soap. She kept scrubbing, ignoring the pain the soapy froth caused as it came in contact with the open patches of flesh. Nothing worked. She scratched her arms raw trying to get rid of that horrible, dirty, permanently stained feeling she had had since the connection formed itself in her mind. She wanted to never see a drop of her blood again, but she somehow knew she'd never be able to ignore the fact that it pumped through her veins, that it was his blood that pumped through her veins.

She duly heard Glinda's anxious calls through the door, but did her best to ignore them as she collapsed to the floor, clutching her aching arms and trying with all her might to get her damned emotions under control. She was not weak- she couldn't be.

But how could she go on knowing she was his daughter, the spawn of a dictator?

She hated Frex. She hated that he hated her. She hated that she was never good enough for him. But for all his faults, he was her father. Even though she knew she could never love him as a daughter was supposed to love a father, he was a good man. How could she even begin to make excuses for the Wizard?

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**A/N:** This reader traffic thing is amazing. I have readers from USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Israel, India, Germany, Poland, France, Denmark, Japan, Greece, Chile, Brazil, Netherlands, New Zealand, Argentina, Singapore, Russia, Ireland, Philippines, Austria, Spain, Puerto Rico and Finland?! -waves- Hello, world :O

My readers. are. amazing. -dances-. Guess what? We broke 100 alerts and 350 reviews. Seriously? (By the way, I'm totally not just looking at stats. It's just a vice that I see numbers and go :O :O :O. Rofl ;-;.)

So, so, so much thanks go to **a-big-apple**, **Anon**, **Eclipse of Light**, **Jemma-Jo**, **Shayerahol22**, **East Coast Ryder**, **ReallyUhSharp**, **danderson**, **Margo**, **longliveelphie**, **Saria29**, **angel718**, **CosettaBella**, **KaraLee713**, **Slave to my Pen**, **musicfan1207 **(4x), **fermataoso**, **Avenue B**, **Riti the Wicked Troll**, **aphephobicfriend**, **hydraspit**, **grey-eyed-goddess**, **hprentwickedfangurl**, **LostOzian **(2x; miss you already, love ;-;), **Love That Wicked**, **yerosmyhero **(3x), **Embers of T****wilight**, **bloodymary2**, **Vicster's Jar of Dirt**, **JavaPoodle**, **BubblyPhantom**, **Digimon Empress Yaten **(3x; you have no idea how much your review made me squeal. Seriously.), **broadwaylover07 **(3x), **ennaxor **(2x), **jo man**, **Sale**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **dust-princess**, **DefiGraviti**, **QuinSeparable**, **Curlycurlz**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **Lady Tiggular **(2x; happy birthday, love), **pokey**, **lotrelves**, **chicken123**.

You all win cookies :O


	15. Goodnight

_**PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU GO ONTO THE CHAPTER**_

**A/N:** I'm not dead xD. College apps are mostly in, but midterms are coming up along with a lot of major assessments. The good news is after late January, I'm mostly done until May. Also, I want to give a huge thank-you to you guys: For Good won best General story as well as 2nd place best AU and best overall stories in the Wicked awards.

_**Wow.**_ That's amazing. Seriously. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Kay, onto the chapter. A few things. _One_: it's very short. I know, I know. It's honestly more of an interlude than a real chapter, but oh well. _Two_: the ending. If you're confused, _good_. If not, hush. You're probably wrong, and if you're right, don't ruin it for everyone else :). I'm very excited about where this is heading.

Reviews are loved, loved, loved, loved, loved.

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**Goodnight**

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Five friends fell into an uneasy sleep that night, riddled with impossibilities, uncertainties, and displeasures, all thinking similar thoughts as they lay.

_What's coming next?_

_What in Oz are we going to do?_

_The end is coming, and there's nothing we can do to stop it._

_I'm going to die._

---

Nessarose went to bed first. She returned from Elphaba and Galinda's- Glinda's, perhaps? It was going to be so much more confusing now, names the least of it, she suspected- room and promptly sat down at her vanity, doing her best to tame her unshed tears by brushing her hair mechanically.

How could she be so cruel? How could she be so callously uncaring to the people who mattered so much to her? She imprisoned the people she grew up with, the people she longed to call her friends, even if they hadn't had the same impression of her. She called her first love hers and hers alone, forcing him into the ceremonial metallic dress of a slave. And worse still, her actions forced him into a similar metallic suit for life, stealing his heart forever.

How could she ever be so cruel?

Dejectedly, she dropped the brush and collapsed into a sobbing, destroyed mess of tangled arms and hair. Sniffling, she forced her head back up, wiping away the running mascara from her blotching, reddening face. She set her jaw and stared at her reflection, noting the eerie similarities she had to her sister in that raw moment, and wheeled herself closer to her bed.

She sobbed dryly, clutching the armrests with all of her strength as she struggled to lift one foot up off of its trestle and wrestled it to the floor. She bit her lip in frustration, slowly shifting her weight to rest on her planted foot. It had to work...

She collapsed, falling half onto the floor, half onto the bed. With a sigh, Nessa crawled to the bed and propped herself up, slipping under the sheets angrily.

She would just have to find another way to be strong for her sister and Glinda.

Oz knows they would need it.

---

Glinda fell asleep next, staring at herself in the mirror outside the locked bathroom.

It had been about one hundred ninety-seven minutes since Nessarose, Boq, and Fiyero had entered the girls' dorm room.

It had been about one hundred eighty-eight minutes since she had told them the truth.

It had been about one hundred eighty-two minutes since she had told Boq that he had been servant to Nessarose.

It had been about one hundred eighty minutes since she had been able to stop the two lovers from yelling at her to continue.

It had been about one hundred seventy-nine minutes since she had told Fiyero that he was in a loveless engagement.

It had been about one hundred seventy-six minutes since she had been able to look either he or Elphaba in the eye.

It had been about one hundred seventy-five minutes since she had told them their fates, quickly enough to get it out but slowly enough so they could understand her choked words.

It had been about one hundred seventy-one minutes since she had been able to stop crying and apologising.

It had been about one hundred seventy minutes since they had actually started to believe she was telling the truth.

It had been about one hundred forty-two minutes since the three had left, leaving Elphaba and Glinda alone.

It had been about one hundred thirty minutes since Elphaba had confronted Glinda angrily, asking no more secrets.

It had been about one hundred twenty-eight minutes since she had revealed that Elphaba's father was the Wizard.

It had been about ninety-two minutes since she had heard the last of Elphaba's sobs through the wall of the bathroom.

It had been about eighty-seven minutes since she had last heard the water running.

It had been about forty-nine minutes since she had last tried calling Elphaba's name.

It had been about two years since she had last liked the girl she had seen in the mirror.

---

Fiyero didn't go back to his room right after he had left Elphaba and Glinda's room. Instead, he took a walk.

Perhaps he understood why he so often found either of the two (or both of the two) wandering idly outside, even in the freezing cold or in the dead of the night. He understood now why they preferred to be outside only kept company by solitude and their haunting thoughts.

He honestly knew there was something major they were keeping from them, something obviously pertaining to them, but he had no idea it was something like this. Hell, how could he? What was he supposed to think?

A smile crossed his face as he realised he wasn't even mad. Perhaps it was due to his 'dancing through life' theory he had adopted all throughout his adolescence, but even though growing up felt more real, he had learned to roll with the punches, however unorthodox they may be. Realising he had stopped just short of where he had met the odd blonde and Elphaba's sister, he chuckled a bit to himself before moving on, stopping only briefly before heading back to his dorm room. It was too cold, he decided, for pondering thoughts, even deeper thoughts such as these. They'd just have to wait until morning.

Besides, he mused, he supposed he had Glinda to thank for his current happiness. He wasn't sure how the other Fiyero felt about the whole mess, but he knew he was a lot happier knowing exactly where the two roommates stood in regards to who was dating whom.

He snorted as he realised where his thoughts led him_. Smooth, Tiggular. They're- perhaps you, too- in danger, real, perhaps mortal danger, and you're worried about romancing. Way to have your priorities in line._ His grin widened as he pictured the lecture he could almost hear Elphaba giving him.

So, yeah, about Glinda's time travel mess? It was definitely worth it.

---

Boq was lying on his back on the bed in his dorm room, staring at the ceiling.

_I'd never thought that things could ever end this way_, he thought with a shiver.

Out of all his friends' fates, his had been the most incredulous, he'd thought.

Elphaba's had been horrible, obviously, but she did have a tendency to make her opinions known; surely sooner or later one of those opinions would get her in trouble. It was a horrible thought, but one with a grim sort of truth.

Fiyero's, well… anyone with eyes could see that he adored Elphaba, however odd their relationship may be. It was heartbreaking, surely, to hear that the carefree man had had to have so many burdens placed on his shoulders, but he had died protecting the woman he loved.

And Nessa… he cared for her. He… well, he loved her, if he was to be honest with himself, but he still saw that she did get a little too attached to ideas, to things. She had mellowed out a lot since her enrolment in Shiz, but the idea of an iron-fisted Madame Governess Nessarose was eerily easy to picture.

He shuddered. He couldn't, however horrible her reign, however, imagine himself turning on her, turning on everyone and everything he held dear, and turning into a cold-blooded murderer.

Was it destined to happen again? Glinda had worried about being unable to change things… what if it happened again? What if he was unable to stop it, what if it just… happened?

His blood ran cold. How was he supposed to face himself? How could he go home this summer and smile at his family, smile at his sisters, knowing that he had it in his heart, ironic as that may be, to be a murderer?

---

It took three days for the news to fly from the Emerald City to a makeshift shack on the outskirts of the so-called Impassable Desert (apparently, no one had ever tried to cross it by broomstick).

The moment the exhausted Eagle relayed the news to the woman formerly known as the Wicked Witch of the West, her face paled.

"Thank you," the woman murmured, offering a chunk of staling bread to the Eagle. "Please, stay and rest a while." She ran long fingers through her tangled black hair before stalking across the grounds to the shack.

"Fiyero!" she cried, whatever calm she had managed to retain fading.

An odd rustling noise sounded, followed by a scarecrow poking out of an improvised window, the alert and wariness in his eyes eerily contrasting with the smile painted onto the burlap bag that seemed to serve as his face. "What is it?" the straw-man rasped in a voice that seemed hoarse from disuse.

The green woman's jaw set in determination. "We're going back."

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Thanks so so much to everyone who read, alerted, reviewed, favourited, or just even glimpsed. You're the reason I write.

Love, respect, admiration, and non-poisoned strawberry cake go to **yerosmyhero**, **Digimon Empress Yaten**, **chicken123**, **Lady Tigelaar**, **musicfan1207**, **lotrelves**, **Curlycurlz**, **ennaxor**, **Kenedy Leigh Morgan**, **Pearl127**, **Riti the Boq Stalker**, **broadwaylover07**, **Shayerahol22**, **Scribbled Ink**, **LostOzian**, **Defying Gravity 728**, **Embers of Twilight**, **grey-eyed-goddess**, **HaChosenOne**, **bloodymary2**, **KaraLee713**, **TakeItAsItComes**, **dust-princess**, **elphieT**, **TryDefyingGravity**, **Ember Nickel**, **Vicster's Jar of Dirt**, **MoonlitInuko**, **RefurAG**, and **Love That Wicked**. You're all flippin' fantabulous.


	16. Blows Nobody Good

_**PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU GO ONTO THE CHAPTER.**_

**A/N:** I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, _so_ sorry for disappearing on you all. I know it doesn't even begin to cut it whatsoever. All I can say is no, I haven't died, yes, I somehow managed to graduate with both my advanced high school and IB diplomas, yes, I'm at college and loving it, and no, none of these are excuses for abandoning you all. However, I have no intentions whatsoever to let this story die, so I hope you'll all stick with me. _Hopefully _it won't be another eight and a half months before the next upload. I've been active roleplaying so there's no excuse I can't force myself into writing this as well.

All right. This chapter is short, I'm so sorry, but I couldn't write anything else. Please let me know if it made no sense whatsoever. It's still sort of filler-y, but it also gives some information as to what's going on. If anyone's still sticking with this, I love you all and apologise... again xD.

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**Blows Nobody Good  
**

Synnove Leta was beside herself in excitement.

It was the kind of scoop every reporter _dreamed_ about but never occurred. Sure, it was terrible, of course, but it was so deliciously wonderful that she could not help but feel thrilled at all the potential ways this could play out.

"A potential kidnapping plot, you say?" Leta asked, trying hard to mask the ecstasy in her voice; she was not too sure that the Captain of the Gale Force would take it too kindly if it appeared she was actually happy about the disappearance of Oz's leader. Without a second thought, she whipped her trusty pad and pen out of her overcoat. "Any suspects? Motive?"

The Gale Force officer looked edgy, as if he was hardly sure that this particular reporter was the best choice; however, options were limited with the entire palace and city being searched. The Palace's head advisor had instructed him to let Miss Leta know about the situation and have the two come up with a way to calmly inform the public without creating a mass panic. "Only two at the moment," Captain Aurel Jaylin admitted. "We've been too busy trying to contain the breakou-" He cut himself off, paling, but the damage had been done.

"Breakout?" Leta repeated, brown eyes glinting in the low light of the stone corridor. "From Southstairs?"

Jaylin sighed and rubbed his face. "Yes, but you can't publish that. The Palace won't allow it."

One eyebrow arched dangerously. "Surely you don't mean to keep such an important bit of information from the public? They deserve to know if a horde of dangerous criminals is on the loose; wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

"Deserving or not," he said warily, "we can't inform the public at this time. It's bad enough that Lady Glinda is missing; if we add in a mass breakout, there's no way it can be said without causing a panic."

"I thought it was contained," Leta said coolly, jotting notes on her pad of paper. "Certainly there's nothing to worry about, then?"

Jaylin did not answer right away, answering her question without words.

"Captain?" she prodded. When he failed to respond, she continued. "Well, you said you had two suspects. May I know which two they are?"

Jaylin nodded, his mouth a grim line. "One is an escaped prisoner that no one has mentioned seeing." He paused in hesitation before elaborating. "Eldreda Morrible, former Headmistress of Shiz and Press Secretary to the Wizard."

"Isn't Lady Glinda the one who put her in Southstairs in the first place?" Leta asked. Her face had apparently abandoned all attempts to stay stoic and was now positively glowing. This was _excellent_.

"Yes," Jaylin confirmed, "which gives Morrible motive. Also, Lady Glinda was reported to have visited Morrible the day before her disappearance."

"Who's the other suspect?" Leta queried, not giving the man a moment's rest as she furiously scribbled on her notepad.

The Captain's face darkened considerably. "One of Lady Glinda's maids also told us about another visitor Lady Glinda had on the eve of her disappearance. Apparently they had a rather heated disagreement that nearly resulted in the guest needing to be escorted out."

"_Who?_"

"The Tin Man."

---

Spring had not always been Glinda's favourite time of year.

She remembered quite vividly a time when it had been fall, in her pre-schooling days, as fall was when her father would come home from his month-long business trips with a smile, a glimmer in his eye, and tales and a sweetie from the Emerald City or the Glikkus or wherever his destination had been that summer, for her to listen to and to suck on if she behaved like a young lady ought to.

Not long after she started finishing school, her favourite season was summer, as it was the only time Galinda had been able to act like her flirty, carefree self and not 'Miss Upland', the fine, upstanding young woman she was to become, heiress and all. Summer meant wild days and muggy nights, bathing outfits, dips into the lake with her girlfriends, and occasional giggle-fits when they would catch a boy peeking through the reeds, not cutlery, dinner parties, and betrothal offers.

At Shiz, it had been winter: before she and Elphaba had become friends, winter was the perfect reason to cuddle up with a boy or a cup of hot chocolate and watch the flurries whip against her cheeks to give her the perfectly rosy complexion- not to mention, snowy escapades were always fun, albeit messy. After she had become friends with her recluse of a roommate, the wet snow had been an excuse for the two to feign illness and sit in their dormitory all day, becoming surer friends slowly and sweetly.

After Galinda became Glinda and her whole life slowly unravelled before her eyes, thread by thread, piece by piece, Glinda enjoyed spring, especially the mornings in early spring where she would get up before the Palace awoke, throw her dressing robe across her shoulders in a frenzied heap, and run off to the courtyard's famed rose gardens. The combination of the frosty dew at her ankles and the occasional snag of thorns on her dressing gown was harsh, but exhilarating, the adrenaline, chill, and stray drops of blood reminding her that she was still alive. She would climb up to the roof of her favourite greenhouse, the one that housed all the exotic plants, feeling like a young girl again, rebellious and lonely. The rising morning sun, striking against the patterns of emerald to create a kaleidoscope of rainbow, would blind her with its harsh angles in all its beauty and abhorrence, reminding her of crushed hope, failed promises, and bittersweet tomorrows, often leaving her breathless with awe and tears.

The singing birds, tinted through the pervasive green glass that her city, the city, was made of, reminded her of Elphaba, the notes singing in sorrow, in ecstasy, in pain, in love, emerald feathers rustling in the wind, soaring off to a far-off place where she should not, would not, could not join.

But now, spring was coming, and Glinda was looking forward to it in an odd mixture of trepidation and glee.

Spring meant the visit to the Emerald City, and she could not dread that any more. But oddly, she was waiting for it in a way that she ought not to be, almost with anticipation, for their visit meant the deciding of their fate, and that meant freedom. It was almost time for them to grasp their own destiny in their own palm, out of Morrible's manipulating grasp.

It was terrifyingly exhilarating, the thought of finally putting their plan into action.

They were finally taking fate into their own hands.

---

"Okay, tell me again."

The five of them were crammed into Elphaba and Glinda's room, going over the last details of their foolhardy plan.

"Galinda, for goodness' sake, I think we've got it by now," Fiyero said in exasperation, immediately shutting up when the other four gave him a sharp look.

"This isn't a game, Fiyero," Elphaba snapped. "I thought you'd have understood that by now."

Stung, he clenched his jaw before responding. "I do understand that. Oz, do you think I'm incompetent or something?"

Seeing Elphaba scowl and open her mouth to shoot off what would surely be a nasty response, Glinda interrupted with an, "Okay, okay, let's just calm down." Ignoring her roommate's huff, she continued. "Now, please, can we please make sure that we've got this? I don't want anything going wrong."

Nessa was the first to speak up. "You and Elphaba will write once you get to the Emerald City. If your cover's blown, you'll use the word 'red' somewhere in the letter. If all is safe up until that point you'll use 'blue'."

"You will meet the Wizard as planned," Boq continued, "and try to stay on his good side. Then you will send us another letter when it's done. If something goes wrong and you can't say, but you're still able to send letters, you'll say something about the weather in it. If we don't get a second letter from you, we wait three days before doing anything."

Glinda breathed out a sigh of relief. She was sure they would have it down by now (they had only been going over this for the past hour or so, figuring out what to do and whether or not it would work), but it was still reassuring to hear it again. "All right. If Madame Morrible returns without us and we haven't written anything…"

"We're not just going to sit on our hands and do nothing, I hope you realise," Fiyero finally interjected. His sentiment was echoed on the satisfied looks on Boq and Nessa's faces.

Glinda and Elphaba shared an accepting, knowing grimace. "As much as I dislike the idea of you confronting Morrible," she said once they had turned to look at their friends once more, "I wouldn't expect you to."

"Just… don't do anything incredibly stupid," Elphaba said, the tone of her voice scarily close to a plea.

"Like going to see the Wizard isn't incredibly stupid?" Fiyero said with a cheeky grin.

Glinda laughed weakly. "I wish I knew what to tell you to do, but so many things could happen."

Nessa smiled at her before gently saying, "You can't always tell what's going to happen. We'll be fine."

"Just promise me you won't do anything without thinking it through at least," Glinda asked, her voice close to a murmur.

She glanced over at Elphaba, biting her lip as she saw her roommate clutch the green glass bottle, knowing that the plan that they had in mind was decidedly not what the others thought it was.

The plan was in set. All they could do now was wait.

Three weeks was going to seem impossibly long.

* * *

Thanks so, so much to everyone who read, alerted, reviewed, favourited, or just even glimpsed these past chapters and thank you even more to those who read this chapter. You all are far better people than me.

As always, love, respect, admiration, and non-poisoned strawberry cake go to **danderson**, **elphieT**, **PhantomPenguin**, **Tiggy the Hopeless Romantic**, **Riti the Dragon Knight**, **Love That Wicked**, **musicfan1207**, **Ember Nickel**, **Defying Gravity 728**, **Embers of Twilight**, **Curlycurlz**, **Sale**, **lotrelves**, **Kennedy Leigh Morgan**, **bloodymary2**, **Amythista**, **yerosmyhero**, **Rose DiVerona**, **Mirsha**, **SimpleNClean92**, **ennaxor**, **Fiyero's Girl-Elphaba**, **mornir-brightflame**, prancer, **Gijinka Renamon**, **jasfaerydust09**, **xXetceteraXx**, **Tovath**, **ReallyObsessiveWriter**, Elizabeth, **Syous99**, **KaiserDrgn**, **nathan-p**, Elle, and **whatthepho**. You're all so incredibly amazing.


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